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JNF UK chair’s claim that Muslims threaten British Jewish life is condemned as ‘reckless’ condemn adverse remarks The chairman of one the UK’s about Muslim immigratop Jewish charities protion and Muslim commuvoked dismay among communities.” nity leaders this week after Community Security claiming immigration into Trust chief executive Mark this country would leave Jews Gardner insisted the outwith “no future in England”, spoken businessman had writes Lee Harpin. managed to “completely Asked about comments made misunderstand” British to an Israeli newspaper earlier Jewry. this month in which he preHayek, 68, who has dicted a gloomy future for UK homes in the UK and Jewry, Jewish National Fund UK Israel, said his grim vision chairman Samuel Hayek told Bordering on alarm: Hayek says immigration is a threat is based on a “changing Jewish News: “Maybe in 10 years, maybe less, who knows, Jews will not be able to live in the UK. demographic of society in England” as a result of immigration into the country, particularly by Muslims.

I don’t think anybody can stop it.”

Hayek also said the defeat at the 2019 election of the Pressed on evidence to support his claim, Hayek added: “The evidence is the number of immigrants to England. Jeremy Cobyn-led Labour Party had not eradicated what he The demographic of British society is changing. Historical claimed was a threat to communal life in this country.

The chair of the KKL Charitable Trust and close ally of events sometimes take long to identify. It is clear England is former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who changing.

“If you look at France, with numbers, nobody would have helped negotiate terms for the current coalition governbelieved 20 years ago the state of the Jewish community as it ment, also took a swipe at communal leadership in the UK. Referencing the well-attended 2018 Enough Is Enough is today.” Asked whether he was referring specifically to issues around Muslim immigration, Hayek said: “You are not wrong.” protest outside Parliament, organised by the JLC, the Board Jonathan Goldstein, outgoing chairman of the Jewish and other groups, he asked: “What does it say about communal Leadership Council, reacted angrily to Hayek’s comments, leaders if the highlight of their term is that they organised a demonstration? Is that it? Leadership is not a word that labelling them “simplistic and reckless”.

Continued on page 6 Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said: “We

‘MY MAIDEN VOYAGE’ Miss GB Emma Rose Collingridge happily reflected this week on her first trip to “beautiful” Israel, where she took part in the Miss Universe contest. See page 10

ISRAEL TO OFFER FOURTH VACCINE DOSE Jab is for over-60s

Israel is on the verge of offering a fourth Covid vaccine to over-60s after an expert panel recommended the move to protect vulnerable patients against the Omicron variant, writes Michael Daventry.

The Health Ministry is expected to approve the measure within days.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed the health panel’s announcement, calling it “great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world”.

But there was scepticism about the need for a fourth jab, particularly given

nearly an eighth of Israelis have refused a third booster shot.

“A fourth vaccine should be administered only if there’s a research that proves its effectiveness,” Yaniv Gov Ari, a Jerusalem resident, told the Associated Press.

“If not, there’s no use, especially when

one million citizens did not get the third vaccine [booster shot].”

Another resident said: “I am in favour of it. The virus is changing all the time, and our body does not.

“So if such a vaccine is given our body Continued on page 3

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / Israeli politics / BBC meeting / Dramatic arrest

Positive political surprises put Israel in a better place Michael Daventry on taboo-breaker Mansour Abbas and the current coalition ANALYSIS There is no doubt that when Mansour Abbas, the leader of the first and hitherto only Arab political party to join an Israeli coalition, described Israel as a Jewish state this week, he was making history.

Making the remark – in Hebrew – during a Tel Aviv conference held by the magazine Globes, the United Arab List leader was breaking an age-old taboo in both Arab and Palestinian politics.

“Israel was born as a Jewish state,” Abbas told his audience. “And that was the decision of the Jewish people, to establish a Jewish state.

“The question is not ‘what is the identity of the state?’ That’s how the state was born, and so it will remain.”

It was a significant moment, not least because his half-namesake Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has long refused to say the same.

Mansour Abbas made almost identical

remarks in Arabic a few weeks ago while speaking to Kul al-Arab, a newspaper and website based in the Israeli city of Nazareth – but it was barely noticed then.

“Whether we like it or not, Israel is a Jewish state, and my central goal is to define the status of the country’s Arab citizens,” he told Kul al-Arab, according to Haaretz. “I view myself as a citizen in the full sense of the word, who deserves to receive full civil rights.”

As 2021 draws to a close, it is no exaggeration to say that Mansour Abbas and the decisions he took were the biggest surprises of the Israeli political year – more unexpected even than the unlikely marriage of the right-wing Naftali Bennett and left-leaning Yair Lapid in government.

Many said Abbas’s decision to break the UAL away from the three other main Arab parties and contest the March 2021 election alone had been reckless. They were wrong.

Many said his coalition talks with Benjamin Netanyahu – the man who once notoriously rallied his supporters with a warning that Arabs

Mansour Abbas, United Arab List leader

the moment when Israelis and Palestinians and Jews and Arabs began to work towards a more just and equitable coexistence. But it is clear that Mansour Abbas spent this year trying something new. This week’s declaration on Israel’s Jewish identity shows he is not stopping yet.

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were voting “in droves” – was nothing short of astonishing, but few believed they would yield a government. Again, they were wrong.

That is why the adjectives were depleted by the time Abbas performed his monumental volte face and appeared in a photograph alongside Bennett, Lapid and five other opposition party leaders. It was a scene without precedent in Israel’s 73-year history.

And this unlikeliest of coalitions has seen out the year. It passed Israel’s first budget since 2018. It endured despite the distressing scenes of intercommunal rioting, of Jews and Arabs attacking each other because of who they were, while violence raged over the border with Gaza.

The coalition’s strategy of avoiding answers to the big questions but focusing on day-to-day matters has worked for Abbas so far. Israeli policy towards the Palestinians is unchanged, but there’s more funding now; for example, for education and reducing violence in Arab areas.

It is too early to say whether Abbas’s decisions will go down in history as a turning point,

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BBC director general Tim Davie is to meet Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl to discuss communal anger over a report into the Chanukah bus incident.

Jewish News understands the meeting is due to take place early in the new year.

The BBC received “several hundred” complaints over a report into incident in London’s Oxford Street last month. A subsequent BBC News website report suggested that Jewish passengers had suffered alleged antisemitic abuse as the celebrated Chanukah in central London.

But the same report alleged that the phrase “dirty Muslims” was used by someone on board the bus. This has been disputed with claims It was actually the phrase “Tikra lemishehu, ze dachuf,” in Hebrew meaning: “Call someone, it’s urgent.”

At their meeting, the Board president will call on the BBC chief to issue an apology to the community over the report.

Meanwhile, the BBC’s complaints unit has been bombarded with complaints from the community over its reporting of the incident. The exact number of ‘stage one’ complaints is not known but sources confirmed to Jewish News that the figure was “several hundred”. The BBC refused to comment on the meeting The Board said it would issue an update later this week.

An armed man was chased and arrested in a dramatic showdown on a Golders Green flyover on Monday.

Footage shared on social media reveals the moment a dozen officers confront the armed individual, telling him repeatedly to “get down now” and “stop resisting”.

During the incident, the assailant tries to run away but is pursued by officers from both sides of the walkway. As they make the arrest, he can be heard screaming, as police cars corner off the North Circular Road below.

Police said: “The suspect ran from officers. The man armed himself with a large metal pole. He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.”

Video report at jewishnews.co.uk

23 December 2021 Jewish News

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Vaccination drive / Fourth jab / News

Charedi jab drive makes pregnant women priority Public health officials have stepped up efforts to vaccinate the Charedi community in Hackney amid concerns disinformation is preventing many pregnant women from getting the Covid jab, writes Lee Harpin.

The government has begun a national push to improve uptake of the booster after data confirmed the Omicron variant was rife throughout London and England generally.

In London this push is being led by the NHS, Mayor of London and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities working with the boroughs.

Data collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the NHS has allowed those behind this vaccine push to focus their attention on areas they appear to be getting left behind in terms of uptake.

Hackney is home to one of the largest Charedi communities in Europe – with young couples seeking to have several children – meaning demographically there is always a higher number of pregnant women as a percentage of the local population than can be found elsewhere.

Jewish News understands that the North Hackney region in particular has emerged as an area with one of the lowest uptakes of the both the first two Covid vaccines, and more recently the booster jab.

Public health officials confirm that they have recently seen an improvement in uptake rates after changing

the way they delivered their messaging to the community through leaflets and flyers.

They have also engaged in dialogue with local Charedi communal groups serving the Hackney region, including Hatzola, Interlink and the JCC, stressing that the Orthodox Jewish community is not being singled out with blame for low uptakes.

Dr Ellen Schwartz, the public health consultant who leads for vaccine uptake in the Orthodox Jewish community in Hackney, confirmed that after discussions with Charedi community leaders changes were made to the format of flyers and leaflets that were distributed particularly to pregnant women.

Concerns about the impact of the vaccine on fertility were found to be one of the issues affecting uptake among young women and males.

“People from within the community approached us with advice on how to articulate messaging about the vaccines in a way that was acceptable and was being listened to,” said Schwartz.

“We were very concerned about those who had not had the vaccine at all, and we were extremely concerned about pregnant women.”

Since the new leaflets were distributed, an increase has been seen on recent Sundays of community members, including pregnant women, turning up at clinics to be vaccinated.

“Vaccination is the safest way for

Unfounded fears about fertility were found to be affecting vaccine uptake

pregnant women to protect themselves and their babies against severe disease,” Dr Leonora Weil, a public health consultant with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities London, told Jewish News.

“Pregnant women who get Covid have a have an increased risk of serious illness with higher rates of intensive care admissions.

“For the baby, there is twice the risk of stillbirth and pre-term

birth with infection in pregnancy.

Pregnant women across the world have had the Covid vaccine without raising safety concerns.”

Next month, London Mayor Sadiq Khan will use his Big Conversation

webinars to reach out to the Orthodox Jewish community to “encourage frank, honest and open dialogue” around the uptake of vaccines.

Sessions have already been held with Muslim and black communities in the capital, with similar concerns among officials over the low uptake of vaccines.

The mayor said: “It has been heartening to see Londoners of all backgrounds and ages lining up outside our pharmacies, hospitals and pop-up vaccination centres which are working around the clock as part of the biggest booster roll out in the country.

“As cases of the Omicron variant continue to rise I don’t want any Londoner to be left behind in the vaccine rollout – particularly those communities who have been so badly affected by the pandemic, like the Jewish community who have suffered disproportionately with the loss of both loved ones and livelihoods.”

ISRAEL IS FIRST NATION TO OFFER FOURTH JAB Continued from page 1 can ‘update’ itself, we will know about it and our body will be able to fight it.”

Israel’s cabinet also approved a series of restrictions in public areas on Tuesday, including social distancing in shops, a ban on indoor dining and proof of vaccination to enter large stores.

Working from home was also encouraged once again, with all workplaces permitted to accommodate no more than half of their employees at any one time.

However, the restrictions were not universally endorsed by the governing coalition, with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman saying they have “no place at the moment”.

Garry’s home was almost uninhabitable.

Icy cold, dark and with no hot water, he used to dread this time of year.

Israel has recorded its first death of a patient with Omicron

News of a possible fourth vaccine came as the first death by a patient who contracted the Omicron variant was confirmed in Israel.

A hospital in Beersheba said the man, in his 60s, died on Monday, two weeks after

he was admitted to the Covid ward. He had a number of preexisting medical conditions.

Defence minister Benny Gantz has ordered the military’s Homefront Command to prepare for the eventuality of 5,000 new cases a day.

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / Archbishop’s article / Rabbi’s return / School blunder

Welby’s words ‘distressing’ The Board of Deputies has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to his co-authored article in the Sunday Times, which speaks of “the backdrop of a genocide of infants” (referring to the time of Jesus Christ) in the Holy Land.

Board president Marie van der Zyl stressed that she agreed entirely with Justin Welby and co-author Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, that “assaults on the Christian community” in the region “carried out by extremists, are unacceptable”, adding that: “All people of faith have the right to freedom of worship and belief.”

However, she took issue with the reasons cited for the decline of Chris-

tians in the Holy Land over the past century. She was “especially troubled” by the article’s description of “the first Christmas”, and the reference to “the backdrop of a genocide of infants”, a reference to the narrative of the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew.

Van der Zyl said: “This allows for the possibility of comparison to current events, and therefore is troubling because of the potential linkage which could be made between Christianity, Jews and the killing of children in any current context.”

This was “particularly distressing because I know that you have advocated

for policies that support Jewish communal concerns” she added. “I fear that rather than encouraging reasoned dialogue on the issues you raise, this may in fact divide communities.”

The article also says the “growth of settler communities and travel restrictions brought about by the West Bank separation wall have deepened the isolation of Christian villages and curtailed economic and social possibilities”.

The Board has asked for a meeting with Welby to “seek a way forward in which we can work together more closely in the pursuit of peace and harmony between Jewish and Christian communities”.

• Comment: Page 20

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who co-wrote an article in the Sunday Times, and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Levenes return to HGS PUPIL TOLD TO BE HITLER A former assistant rabbi of Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue is to return to the community in the top job.

Rabbi Marc and Rebbetzen Lisa Levene will take over at the United shul in the summer after being overwhelmingy voted for by members at the weekend.

Rabbi Levene served as assistant rabbi of HGSS from 2012 to 2017. The rabbinic couple, who have four girls, then served at Belmont United Synagogue.

Rabbi Levene said: “Lisa and I are delighted to be returning to HGSS. We are excited to ensure that it continues to be a flagship shul of Anglo Jewry.

Our primary focus will be to connect and engage with all members, ensuring that everyone finds their unique space and place within such a diverse and vibrant community.”

He would be sad to say goodbye to “our wonderful Belmont Family” and appreciated their support, love and guidance.

Students at a school in Washington, DC were told by a staff member to reenact scenes from the Holocaust, The Washington Post reported.

When the third-grade students asked why the Germans killed Jews, the staff member said it was “because the Jews ruined Christmas”.

The pupils at Watkins Elementary School were supposed to be working on projects in the library last Friday when the staff member told the students to reenact scenes from the Shoah.

She reportedly told one student, who is Jewish, to play the role of Hitler and to pretend

to commit suicide. Another was told to pretend he was on a train to a concentration camp and then to act as if he were dying in a gas chamber.

The staff member told students not to tell anyone about the reenactment but they told their form teacher.

M Scott Berkowitz, the school’s principal, emailed parents to say all students in the class had later met with the school’s mental health team. “Students should never be asked to act out or portray any atrocity, especially genocide,” Berkowitz said in the email.

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Airport complaint / Lobster luggage / News

Brit upset by Ben-Gurion security

by Jenni Frazer @JenniFrazer

The traveller says staff told him to pull down his trousers

A British man has complained bitterly about his treatment by Israeli airport officials as he was travelling back to the UK last week after visiting his partner, an Arab Israeli man.

According to a report in Haaretz, Greg Baird, said he was subjected to around three-and-a-half hours of close questioning, primarily about his partner, and his own previous employment with Emirates, the UAE national airline.

Baird – who has not worked for the airline for many years, and is now a travel consultant – said that despite his

requests for water and a lavatory break, neither was granted.

Although he was eventually allowed to board his flight, his electronic items – except for his phone, over which he said argued fiercely – were confiscated and were returned to him three days later.

He and his partner have been in a relationship for two years but previously have met only outside both Britain and Israel because of pandemic restrictions.

This was Baird’s first visit to Israel and, he has vowed, his last.

He complained about repeated questioning by a number of different officials, having his case unpacked, and being forced to pull down his trousers.

In response, the Israel Airports Authority said that security inspections at the airport were mainly performed through the use of technology and are done without regard to sex or gender.

“When a warning is received it is checked out. We regret the time that the inspection took and the feelings that the passenger had,” the IAA told Haaretz.

The British man’s unidentified partner, an Arab Israeli who lives in a small Jewish community in the north of Israel, said he was very unhappy about Baird’s treatment.

He said he had tried to show Baird “the best of Israel” only for the airport incident to spoil that.

CLAW DEAL: MYSTERY OF LOBSTER SMUGGLER Mystery surrounds the fate of an Israeli who flew from Scotland to Israel with more than 300 baby lobsters in his luggage.

The man, who allegedly left Ben-Gurion Airport without being stopped by security officials, was caught only after he was found with the lobsters, and staff from Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture inquired where the lobsters had come from, and why he did not have an import licence.

Dr Nadav Davidovich, from the ministry’s veterinary services, said: “Import of

animals is subject to licensing and full compliance with its conditions.

“This is a necessary procedure, through which freedom from disease can be guaranteed, without fear of harm being done to the wildlife population in Israel and in breeding farms.”

The lobsters had not been tested for disease before being smuggled into Israel, which has a small but healthy export business of the crustaceans to European countries. Israeli law complies with guidelines

set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), ensuring that animals must be tested for disease when brought from overseas and results must be disclosed.

Israel is free of most diseases listed by the OIE, but there was concern that the Scottish lobsters could have infected the local lobster population, rendering them useless for sale.

There are no reports of what happened to the would-be lobster smuggler or, indeed, the lobsters themselves – which are, of course, not only smuggled goods but non-kosher too.

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18/12/2021 23:11

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / Legislation delayed / Cancel culture / Athlete mourned / Hayek’s claim

Bill to prevent online abuse is delayed again

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

Legislation aimed at tackling online harms, including antisemitic abuse, has been delayed again, despite a huge rise in offences taking place over the internet.

More than 200,000 online crimes were recorded by police over the past year, compared with 114,000 in 2019.

Boris Johnson has promised “worldleading” legislation to combat online harms – with former culture secretary Oliver Dowden promising action to protect the Jewish community who he said “routinely find themselves subjected to hateful posts and poisonous conspiracy theories on Twitter, Facebook and beyond”. But the government has now confirmed that the Online Safety Bill will not be introduced into parliament until next year.

The Online Harms White Paper had first been published in April 2019, setting out a package of “online safety measures.”

In October the prime minister told the Commons the Bill would be introduced

Lipman fears for comedy’s future Dame Maureen Lipman has claimed cancel culture has left society “on the cusp of wiping out comedy”.

She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “This cancel culture, this punishment, it’s everywhere. You know, an eye for an eye. ‘You said that, therefore, you must never work again.’

“We’re on the cusp of wiping out comedy.”

The Jewish actress added: “I think it’s a revolution, It’s in the balance whether we’re ever going to be funny again.

“It’s a bit like laughter in

church, something has to be forbidden to make you really laugh, to make you really belly laugh. It’s when you shouldn’t be laughing. And so... all the things that are being cancelled out are the things that have always made people laugh.”

Lipman was challenged by comedian Russell Kane, who said it was “nonsense” to suggest comedians were self-censoring. “There’s been a massive, much-needed shift in the conversation around gender, men’s attitudes to women, consent. Society has moved on.”

TRIBUTES TO ATHLETE ROSEN The Online Safety Bill is aimed at stamping out antisemitic abuse like this

to parliament “before Christmas”. Under the proposals, social media companies will have a duty of care to keep users safe.

Criminal sanctions could be imposed on online media chiefs for failure to act.

A parliamentary committee that scrutinised the Bill called last week for “major changes” to ensure it was effective.

Confirming the delay to the Bill, a government spokesperson said: “We are encouraging companies to take steps now and do not expect platforms to wait for the legislation.” Labour’s Lucy Powell, shadow culture secretary, said: “Ministers have promised to introduce laws to regulate the internet but they have not delivered.”

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Tributes have been paid to Jewish Olympian Adam ‘A J’ Rosen, who has died aged 37 after a ‘ferocious battle’ with cancer. The British luge athlete took part in the 2006, 2010 and 2018 Winter Games.

CHARITY CHAIRMAN’S CLAIM SPARKS FURIOUS BACKLASH Continued from page 1 is empty of action. Leadership is being involved with your people all of the time.”

Hayek’s (pictured below) dismal assessment was firmly criticised by the officials at the Community Security Trust, Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies.

Earlier this month, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, he had first made his claim that “Jews have no future in England”.

Mark Gardiner, the CST’s chief executive, said: “People who say British Jews have no future in this country completely misunderstand what we are about. All of CST’s work, from our trustees, staff and volunteers is to ensure a proud, confident and safe Jewish life in this country.

“This is why we have invested millions of pounds in our community’s security and it is why so many antisemites have ended up in prison after CST reported them to police.

“We have allies and supporters across British society and from all communities and we are not going anywhere.”

JLC chair Goldstein said: “Since Oliver Cromwell readmitted Jews to Britain in 1656 we have, by and large, had a good life in this country.

“For a Jewish leader to say that we are entering the final period of Jewish life here is simplistic and reckless. Antisemitism has existed for thousands of years and has morphed throughout. We have been living in a golden Fears: Samuel Hayek

age of Jewish life where the Jewish state flourishes and diaspora communities have undergone a renaissance, whether that be through the huge increase in Jewish school demand or our flourishing cultural scene.

“When we were faced with political danger in Jeremy Corbyn and the antisemites behind him we collectively stood up and faced down that problem, and won. This demonstrated our confidence and security within the UK and we discovered many allies across British society.

“There will continue to be challenges and threats to our peaceful existence but I am confident in the leadership across our community and the innate decency of the British people that these can be overcome.”

Board president Marie van der Zyl said: “We firmly believe the British Jewish community has a strong future in this country, and that those who say otherwise do a serious disservice to the UK, which resoundingly rejected Corbynism two years ago. The efforts of Jewish communal organisations in this country to ensure that our community continues to thrive are manifold, and are certainly not restricted to rallies outside parliament.

“We condemn adverse remarks about Muslim immigration and Muslim communities. This year, thousands of people from our community contributed to collections to help Afghan refugees who had fled to this country.

“We believe that this is far more indicative of the attitude of British Jews.”

23 December 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Terror conviction / Riley victory / News

Hamas T-shirt man is spared jail term A man from Wiltshire who went out among Jewish communities in north London wearing T-shirts supporting banned Palestinian groups has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Feras Al Jayoosi pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to four counts of wearing an article supporting a proscribed organisation.

He was handed a total sentence of 16 weeks in custody, suspended for two years.

He was told his diagnosis of autism and Asperger’s reduced his culpability, and meant he would not go to prison immediately.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said: “The harm you caused is high – you targeted the Jewish community, particularly in Golders Green.

“You had multiple warnings that the path you were taking – the organisations you sought out to align yourself with – would get you into trouble, but you carried on.”

The charges relate to Al Jayoosi, 34, wearing T-shirts supporting Hamas Izz ad-Din alQassam Brigades – the military wing of the Palestinian organisation Hamas – and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Both groups are proscribed as terrorist organisations in the UK. Three of the charges relate to the defendant wearing the garments in Golders Green – an area of north London with a large Jewish population – on June 8 and 9 this year.

The fourth relates to an incident at Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Wiltshire, on 30 May. Goldspring said: “This prosecution is not about [you] supporting the cause of the Pal-

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Feras Al Jayoosi outside court in London

estinian people. You and very many others – rightly – feel very strongly about that. It’s about supporting organisations that believe the way to solving the problem is in ways that are violent and that we should all abhor.

“Do not be under any misunderstanding that your support for the Palestinian cause is somehow not thought to be worthy and lauded – it is.

“There were many ways you could have expressed your support for the cause without finding yourself in court.”

Goldspring said he did not expect Al Jayoosi, from Swindon, to find himself before the courts again but also said that, with a terrorist conviction, he would probably struggle to find a job in the future.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service, and was banned from the NW11 postcode of north London.

He was also ordered to pay £288 to the court.

Representatives from Immanuel College and the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy will be available to answer questions at this event.

We look forward to welcoming any parents and pupils in Years 10 and 11 who would like to find out more about the course which will be launched in 2022.

To register to attend please contact Lynda Dullop, Director of Business Development:

ldul@immanuelcollege.co.uk

Riley wins £10K damages after suing Corbyn aide attacked by a Brexiteer. Rachel Riley Television presenter Rachel Riley tweets that Corbyn deserves to has been awarded £10,000 dambe violently attacked because ages after suing a former aide he is a Nazi. This woman is as to Jeremy Corbyn for libel. dangerous as she is stupid.

Riley, a numbers expert Nobody should engage on the Channel 4 show with her. Ever.”

Countdown, sued Laura Riley said that she Murray over a tweet was being sarcastic in her posted two years ago. tweet, did not call Corbyn Mr Justice Nicklin a Nazi, and that Murray’s heard the case at the High tweet caused serious harm Court in London in May to her reputation. and delivered a ruling on Murray was stakeholder Monday. manager in Corbyn’s Both women had office and went on to be tweeted after Corbyn, Rachel Riley outside court Labour’s head of comwho was then Labour leader, was hit with an egg while visiting a plaints before going into teaching.

Mr Justice Nicklin ruled at an earlier hearing mosque in March 2019. Murray tweeted in that her tweet was defamatory. He concluded response to a tweet by the TV presenter.

Riley, 35, initially posted a screenshot of a that the tweet meant: Riley had “publicly January 2019 tweet by Guardian columnist stated” Corbyn had been attacked when visOwen Jones, about an attack on former British iting a mosque; that he “deserved to be vioNational Party leader Nick Griffin, which said: “I lently attacked”; that she had shown herself to think sound life advice is, if you don’t want eggs be a “dangerous and stupid person” and people should not “engage with her”. thrown at you, don’t be a Nazi.”

Riley told the judge that she was Jewish and She tweeted: “Good advice”, with emojis of a had a “hatred of antisemitism”. red rose and an egg.

She said she spoke out against antisemitism Later, Murray, who is in her early 30s, tweeted: “Today Jeremy Corbyn went to his and thought the Corbyn-led Labour Party was local mosque for visit My Mosque Day, and was “fostering antisemitism”.

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / Liberator mourned / Headteacher dies / Ofsted report

Belsen liberator mourned Prime Minister Boris Johnson led tributes this week to Ian Forsyth, one of the first British soldiers to liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, following his death, aged 97, writes Jack Mendel.

Forsyth dedicated his later life to educating about the horrors he witnessed, speaking at schools and with charities such as the Holocaust Educational Trust and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

Forsyth, of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, was a tank operator who fought his way through Germany following the D-Day landings.

Aged just 21, he entered the

Ian Forsyth

camp at which an estimated 50,000 people died, in April 1945, with the 15th/19th King’s Royal Hussars in the The Royal Armoured Corps.

Speaking about his experience, he appeared in a video with Auschwitz and Belsen survivor Renee Salt, and Boris Johnson, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2021.

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, paid her respects, saying: “Ian Forsyth was one of the first British soldiers to liberate the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.

What he saw there stayed with him, and informed the rest of his life.

“Over the past decades, he

made such an effort to tell the next generation about what he saw, and to reconnect with those he liberated, including meeting survivor Renee Salt BEM with the prime minister to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2021. He was a kind and thoughtful man who we will remember fondly. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

Forsyth told the prime minister earlier this year of his experience as he was awarded the Points of Light Award. “We didn’t even know the camp was there,” Forsyth recalled.

“My tank happened to be the lead tank on that particular day. But no

one told us what to expect.”

As he fought back tears, he apologised to the prime minister while relaying his experiences, saying: “I get very emotional when I talk about this.”

He added: “I have been back quite a few times, it draws me like a magnet.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation in 2020, he told the BBC it made him think “for the first time,. just how low mankind can sink”.

Video report at jewishnews.co.uk

Former Carmel head dies JFS TAKING ‘EFFECTIVE ACTION’ The second headmaster of Carmel College, Britain’s legendary public school founded

by Rabbi Kopul Rosen, has died. David Stamler, who was headmaster from 1962 to 1971 after the unexpected early death of Rabbi Rosen, died in New York, aged 93.

In his memoir of Carmel College, Rabbi Jeremy Rosen, the eldest of Rabbi Kopul and

Bella Rosen’s three sons, says that Stamler was effectively Kopul Rosen’s right-hand man. Stamler, records Rabbi Rosen, “was a chain smoker, read the Financial Times religiously and was an excellent teacher”.

But although, after taking over from Rabbi Kopul Rosen, Stamler was elected to the prestigious Headmasters’

Conference in 1969, the ethos of Carmel College began to change under his headmastership. “Although he [Stamler] was religiously committed and knowledgeable, religious enthusiasm was not his forte.

He had no singing voice and was unwilling to lead on religious occasions”.

In 1970 Stamler “abruptly and surprisingly” resigned.

JFS has been praised by Ofsted for taking great strides to haul itself out of special measures.

Education inspectors visited Europe’s largest Jewish secondary in November and have now written to the school with their latest findings.

The report, published this week, said JFS was taking “effective action towards the removal of special measures”

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / School honour / Aliyah numbers / Miss GB

Jewish primary wins mental health award A pioneering Jewish primary school has won the prestigious School Mental Health Award, writes Jenni Frazer. Gesher School was awarded a silver standard for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Gesher, a primary school in Pinner dedicated to children with special needs, was recognised for its “whole school approach” to supporting students, staff, families and carers.

It offers a range of activities to the pupils, including mindfulness, yoga, dramatherapy, regular counselling, art therapy, celebration assemblies, family workshops, and Lego-therapy.

Additionally, the school works closely with a number of specialist services including social services and the NHS’s child and adolescent mental health services.

Tamaryn Yartu, Gesher’s headteacher, said: “I’m extremely proud of Gesher achieving this award. At Gesher we believe that happy children learn, and that now more than ever, positive mental health and emotional wellbeing is critical to our

The learning lodge at Gesher School, which has been awarded a silver standard

children and young people being able to navigate the changing world.”

The award was established in 2017 by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools – part of Leeds Beckett University – and social enterprise Minds Ahead.

Dr Steve Burton, interim dean of Leeds

Beckett’s Carnegie School of Education, said: “Achieving this award is not just recognition of a whole-school approach to mental health. It’s a recognition of the school’s commitment to improving the life chances of children and engaging with the wider community including staff and parents/carers.”

UK ALIYAH WAS UP 25% IN 2021 The number of British Jews choosing a new life in Israel rose by nearly a quarter in 2021, while other countries showed dramatic increases in olim compared to the previous year, writes Michael Daventry.

New figures released this week also showed more than half of all olim this year were under the age of 35. Officials hailed the new arrivals as a welcome injection into the Israeli economy despite the difficult circumstances presented by the pandemic.

The data – released jointly by the Jewish Agency, Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Nefesh B’Nefesh NGO – showed there were 650 people who made aliyah from the United Kingdom this year, a 22 percent increase on 2020.

Figures from France showed a 40 percent jump in immigration with the arrival of 3,500 olim, the highest in four years, while the United States produced its highest number in nearly half a cen-

UK olim arrive in Israel

tury. A record-breaking 4,000 people made aliyah from the US, reaching heights not seen since 1973, with a further 400 from Canada. Other notable countries included Russia (7,500), Ukraine (3,000) and Ethiopia (1,636).

“We are thrilled to see a sharp increase, of tens of percentage points,” said Yaakov Hagoel, acting chairman of The Jewish Agency.

“Growing interest in Aliyah continued this year, with The Jewish Agency’s Global Aliyah Centre, which provides Aliyah information throughout the day in six languages, opening almost 32,000 new aliyah files.

However, the best is yet to come – we haven’t yet maximised on the potential aliyah.”

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Miss GB reflects on her maiden voyage to Israel Miss GB Emma Rose Collingridge has reflected on “a once-in-a lifetime” experience after returning from the Miss Universe contest held for the first time in israel.

The English graduate from Suffolk was placed in the top 16 of the annual contest in Eilat, after spending over a week touring the country with 90 fellow beauty queens from around the globe.

Their trip included a visit to Jerusalem including the Tower of David, the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and tea with deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.

Contestants also enjoyed a visit to the Dead Sea (pictured above).

“I was one of only two Europeans to make the top 16,” the 23-year-old told her followers on Instagram “I’m still overwhelmed at hearing Great Britain being called. Had the most amazing time.” Collingridge described Israel as “beautiful”.

Emma touring Jerusalem during her visit for the The contest was won by Miss India.

Miss Universe contest in Eilat earlier this month

23 December 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

11

Beatles museum / News

Beneath the blue suburban skies... ... in Florida is Penny Lane, set up by a Jewish doctor who loves The Beatles so much he created America’s only museum devoted to them. By Bruce Lowitt

Bobby Entel at his museum in Florida

Bobby Entel didn’t watch The Beatles’ 1964 US TV debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.

He was seven years old at the time and in bed.

Nor did he ever see them in person, visit Liverpool or cross Abbey Road.

But he’s more than made up for that. When he’s not working as a radiologist in Florida, he can often be Penny Lane displays a quarter of his memorabilia collection found at Penny Lane, the free erlands. But except for a floor dedicated to them museum he has opened that features his extensive collection of Beatles at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, memorabilia. That’s where he goes to escape Ohio, Entel believes that his is the only permanent Beatles exhibit in the United States. the realities of life.

Entel bought his first Beatles memorabilia “This is my happy spot, my relief area,” Entel said, seated in a nook at Penny Lane at the Portobello Road market in London and while Something from the Abbey Road album brought them home to Florida, where he started played softly in the background and a pair going to flea markets and antique stores in the of nearby tourists studied a guitar signed by Tampa Bay area where he usually found lowerPaul McCartney. “It’s a very fulfilling hobby end items such as buttons, pins and records.

By the time Entel was in his 30s, his Beatles and a labour of love.”

There are several museums dedicated to collection had outgrown the cupboard space The Beatles in England and one in the Neth- he had allotted to it. He started buying more

expensive and rare items from online auction houses as well as from eBay. “I went from pins and buttons and posters to signed guitars and their clothing. I also have pieces of their hair,” Entel said.

At first when friends suggested he open a museum, he dismissed the idea. “I’d tell them, ‘I’m a doctor. What do I know about a museum?’” But he knew George Ann Bissett, then director of a nearby arts centre, and her husband Colin, a native of Liverpool who “really had a sense of the Beatles’ early days”, Entel said. Colin is now the curator of Penny Lane and a museum guide.

“I went to school with Rory Best, Pete Best’s brother and we used to go see them,” Bissett said. Pete Best was the Beatles’ drummer for two years before being replaced by Ringo Starr in August 1962.

Bissett added: “They were nothing like they turned out to be. They were just local guys.”

With just 600 square feet for its exhibition space, the museum holds about 1,000 items, only a quarter of Entel’s collection, and receives about a thousand visitors per month.

“I have stuff at home that I can’t display here because it’s a small place,” Entel said. I have Ringo Starr’s drum set that he played on a Super Bowl commercial. I have Beatles pinball machines, Beatles juke boxes, a couple of Beatles slot machines from Las Vegas.

“What I love the most is the people who come in and tell their Beatles stories, their memories.”

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

News / Food shortages / Playwright celebrated

Kosher crisis deepens in Belfast The UK government and EU have been urged to find an “urgent solution” to the shortages of kosher food in Northern Ireland.

A prominent member of the Jewish community in the region has said cupboards are “nearly bare” due to trade restrictions under the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission have joined the call for the shortages of kosher food to be addressed.

The shortages have been attributed to “practical difficulties of finding suppliers from Great Britain to undertake the complicated process of delivering these supplies to Northern Ireland”.

The protocol has led to extra checks on goods entering Northern Ireland in a bid to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Michael Black, chair of the Belfast Jewish Community, said they are facing “enormous difficulties in the practice of our faith”.

“Due to the new barriers, our cupboards are nearly bare of kosher foods,” he said. “If these shortages are not addressed soon, we will face real difficulty daily as well as in celebrating .. Passover

Community chair Michael Black with McGahey and Kilpatrick

in April. Ultimately these shortages may impact on the viability of our historic community in Belfast.

“We have had many promises, but we need action and would

urge all parties to get involved to work constructively and quickly to find a solution.”

Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission, and Alyson Kilpatrick, chief commissioner of NIHRC, said minority faith groups must not be overlooked.

They said in a joint statement: “The UK government has committed to maintaining certain equality and human rights after Brexit. Both commissions have been given additional powers and responsibilities to ensure that the UK government upholds this commitment and also have a role in considering and assessing the impact of Brexit on our faith-based communities.

“We will continue to monitor closely the negotiations in relation to the export of chilled meats from GB to NI and assess the potential impact on religious groups and their ability to access food and ritual products. As small communities, minority faith groups must not be overlooked in Northern Ireland. It is important that the EU and the UK Government find a solution to this issue as soon as is practicable.”

Wesker plaque at his former school A plaque celebrating the School and Upton House Secdramatist Sir Arnold Wesker ondary School along the Lower has been installed at his old Clapton Road. The family lived primary school in Northwold on the Northwold Estate .

Wesker wrote more than 50 Road, Hackney.

Born in 1932, son of Joseph plays, as well as several books and Leah, Wesker was brought and poetry. After two years’ up initially in Whitechapel National Service in the RAF, and Stepney. His family later he became one of the ‘angry moved to Hackney and he young men’ of the 1950s and attended Northwold16:04 primary Sir Arnold: HALF PAGEHackney ADVERTpupil JAN 2020:Layout 1 09/01/2020 Page 160s world of British drama,

and was passionate about taking the arts to working people and the provinces.

He lobbied trade unions and governments for money for the arts and ultimately set up the Roundhouse Arts Centre in Camden. In 1961 he went to jail for his part in non-violent demonstrations against nuclear weapons.

He was knighted for services to the arts in 2006 and died in 2016.

The plaque is the initiative of local historian and former teacher Martin Sugarman, who was a student at Upton House after Wesker left and whose teachers often boasted pf ‘having taught the famous Arnold Wesker’. The plaque

The plaque in Northwold Rd

was funded by American philanthropist Jerry Klinger, of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

Jewish News meets... Dr Moshe Kantor

‘The fight against antisemitism has changed direction’ Moshe Kantor wants to enlist social media game-changers, writes Stephen Oryszczuk

and the different targets (age, interest etc). This isn’t an old man trying to be ontrend. This is a well thought out strategy.

It felt like one of those moments when you first hear of a phenomenon that then becomes huge, that becomes the new era, that becomes the norm. This is a big realworld problem meeting a big real-world solution via the stated clenched-fist aim of determined billionaire.

As one of four journalists flown out to Vienna, I wasn’t ostensibly there to hear this. I was there to witness the unveiling

by Kantor and others of a five-volume mini antisemitism library you need a wheelbarrow to transport. Compiled over almost four years to great fanfare by a select group of scholars and destined to be the preserve of other select scholars, it’s about as far removed from popular culture as is possible to be. Yet he thought it was needed.

“We wanted to create the academic platform on which we can develop other more Anti-Jewish racism on London's streets simple and clear instruments,” he explained.

“Earlier today, I spoke with Prof [Armin] change something. Just now, we found that Lange about the need, for the younger genera- one session, sometimes even just one hour, is enough to change their platform completely.” tion, to have everything on one page.”

He knows that to speak to the young, you There is a certain comedy value in a philanthropist bringing 119 of the world’s leading have to speak their language. “They have a antisemitism scholars together for four days different vocabulary. I don’t understand my in February 2018, then funding Prof Lange et [young] sons, especially when they speak to al to distil into 2,240 pages their accumulated each other. We have to come to the young, not thoughts and work, and now telling Lange ask that they come to us. That’s why we have that he really ought to squish it down a bit, to follow-up on these books, to make it understandable for young people in every country.” preferably to one page, for the youngsters.

Kantor doesn’t just talk about social media.

“These [five] books will give an academic platform for something that’s very impor- He wants “a law… against antisemites”.

If influencers are his carrot, legislation tant and very meaningful today: social media.

People addicted to social media are losing inlaid into a state’s constitution (to hedge their ability for long-term education. We have against changing political winds) making it to create something for them that is very easy illegal to be hateful to Jews is his stick.

Yes, some European Union states already to digest and understand, from the first sentence.”

There’s a lot there to unpick here, but he obviously knows the younger generation, and knows where the antisemitism of tomorrow might today be brewing.

Rumour has it that Kantor spent his own youth designing mirrors for Soviet spacecraft, yet here he is, nearly 70, recognising that for a message to be understood by the largest number of phone-addicted young people today it has to be a) online b) short c) understandable to all d) understandable in its entirety.

He knows that the attention span of the average 15-year-old today is such that no have these laws, but most do not.

Kantor said so much of interest in such a 15-year-old will still be reading this article by now, if they ever started, and therefore we short time that it led to a thousand questions. cannot hope to infuse a teen love of/tolerance First, influencers are businesspeople: they for Jews using such arcane devices as multi- influence for a fee.

Is he proposing to pay famous online syllabic words, multi-pronged sentences, pages without pictures, sentences without names to tell people not to hate Jews? If so, is hashtags, or videos without end. That’s what he in danger of becoming the digital version of a well-known self-publicising Israeli-Canawe did yesterday, he’s saying.

Today, we need to enlist the help of those dian businessman who pays millions of dollars who can hook a fleeting and easily distracted to the world’s sporting and musical superstars 15-year-old mind in online for enough crucial to perform in Israel? Alas, there is no time for seconds for the information to be delivered or such queries.

With a polite nod, Kantor is off, whisked for the message to sink in, before that young out of the palace surroundings to the opera head is turned.

It can be done, too. Kantor is the president house, leaving the assembled journalists to of the Anna Freud Centre in London, he says. contemplate how Kim Kardashian could help “For the last 18 years, the centre takes care of the Jewish cause, as we lower the crane down to pick up the first of our five volumes. young people addicted to extremism.

Back at the hotel, I find the bit in Volume 5 “We wanted to find the language, the vocabulary, of how to speak with them. And that deals with social media. It’s all data, algowe got a very interesting result during the rithms and policy frameworks.

In other words, it’s written by an academic pandemic.

“Before, we thought it took months and and it is hard to see how it will influence months of talking to potential extremists, people very much. To do that, it turns out you young guys, together with their parents, to need a pensioner.

❝

Dr Moshe Kantor speaking at the World Holocaust Forum

What do the two words ‘antisemitism’ and ‘influence’ bring to mind? Antisemites influencing people to hate Jews? Antisemitism spreading to influence other things and people? Maybe something more positive, such as how people may be influenced away from antisemitism?

Possibly very few who heard those words would think of influencers; specifically, influencers using their social media channels to inform, educate, and ‘influence’ their mostly young following about the world’s oldest hatred, nipping any potentially nasty thoughts in the bud with viral videos or whatever digital dishes these online sages spin.

Yet that’s exactly the plan that is exciting Dr Moshe Kantor, the 68-year-old Russian Jewish billionaire who sits atop a symphony of Jewish organisations and who has just been given Austria’s highest honour.

Kantor, a London-dwelling scientist turned fertiliser magnate, is a sparky, funny, and slightly elbow-pulling thinker who’s three steps ahead of the pack and who – for wont of a better phrase – is bang on the money when it comes to antisemitism and social media. He said more in the six minutes Jewish News had with him (before his people yanked him away) than we had heard over two days in the Austrian capital. And it’s worth breaking it down.

“Today’s young people are not thinking

about the lessons of World War Two, about the lessons of the Shoah. The more we speak about this, the further away we go from them. We have to speak their language, on their values.”

Stop talking about the Holocaust if you want to combat antisemitism? As a message from one of the world’s most senior Jewish leaders, that’s one of the more eyebrowraising. Yet what he is saying makes sense.

“We need proper influencers, both micro

❝

THE MORE WE SPEAK ABOUT THE WAR AND THE HOLOCAUST, THE FURTHER AWAY WE GO FROM THEM influencers, from the same age group, the same group of interests, and macro influencers, who influence all groups, sometimes going from one group to another.”

Not only does he know what an influencer is (many people of a similar age wouldn’t have a clue) but he has mapped out the different kinds of influencers needed (micro, macro)

WE HAVE TO CREATE SOMETHING VERY EASY TO DIGEST AND UNDERSTAND, FROM THE FIRST SENTENCE

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23 December 2021 Jewish News

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Covid patient / Rabbi threat / News briefs / World News 290 antisemites are honoured in Berlin

Berlin has 290 streets named after Germans who expressed antisemitic views, analysis has found.

They include a 19th-century historian who coined the phrase, later popularised by the Nazis, “the Jews are our misfortune”, a 15th-century official who supported a purge of Jews and an athlete who was a darling of the Nazi regime. The analysis was carried out by the city’s commissioner in charge of fighting antisemitism.

Violence by settlers is up by 50 percent

Violent attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank were nearly 50 percent higher than last year, according to The Times of Israel. In 2021, there have been 397 attacks so far, compared with 272 in 2020.

Its reported is based on data from the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency.

There have been 135 stonethrowing incidents targeting Palestinians this year compared with 90 in 2019.

Rabbi praying for neo-Nazi

by Jenni Frazer @JenniFrazer

A neo-Nazi and anti-vax conspiracy theorist who is in hospital in Italy with Covid may be surprised to learn that among those praying for his recovery is Milan’s Chabad rabbi, Shlomo Bekhor.

David Parenzo (left) and Covid patient Maurizio La Zanzara (‘the MosThe radio station, Radio 24, belongs quito’) is a popular radio programme, co-presented by Giuseppe Cruciani, to the country’s premier economic a ‘shock jock’, and David Parenzo, a newspaper, but La Zanzara looks at all Jewish journalist. The pair are well- the major news issues of the day — and there are regular phone-in slots. known throughout Italy.

One of the most frequent callers is Maurizio Buratti, who has become known as Mauro da Mantova. A coachbuilder in a town near Milan, where the programme is based, he became a well-known voice expressing extremist views, both against Jews and against Covid vaccinations.

Last week Buratti called in to the programme from a supermarket, where he said he had a temperature of 38 degrees. His voice, familiar to the presenters, was broken and hoarse.

Together Parenzo and Cruciani persuaded the vaccine refusenik to go to hospital, where he now remains, intubated and said to be “critically ill”.

Rabbi Bekhor, who runs a Judaism publishing house in Milan, Mamash Publishing, is also a frequent contributor to the radio show, speaking about Jewish issues.

Parenzo asked the rabbi to say a prayer for Buratti, which was recorded on Friday and broadcast last Saturday.

Rabbi Bekhor said of Buratti: “He is a bit extreme – very right-wing and a bit antisemitic as well as being anti-vax.

“We as Jews pray for everyone. We give them respect, because mercy is one of the three pillars of Judaism. And antisemitism comes from stupidity and ignorance. We pray so that hatred will be nullified.”

Death threats to Charedi backing jab One of Israel’s top Charedi authorities and his family have received threats from antivaxxers after coming out in support of vaccinating children aged five to 11 to protect against the coronavirus.

The threats have been communicated in phone calls, emails and letters to Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky.

Some have even tried to break into his home. Security at his house and when the rabbi attends events has been tightened.

The Messy Hot Drink

“Some people are trying to intimidate the ‘prince of Torah’ and his family to change his decision on vaccines, but of course he is of the opinion that it is necessary to get vaccinated,” Meir Gross, Kanievsky’s head of security, told Ynet, using the rabbi’s honorific.

Kanievsky recently met with officials from Israel’s Ministry of Health. At that meeting, the officials asked for Kanievsky’s support for the country’s child vaccination campaign. Due to the higher birth rates in the

strictly Orthodox community, a large portion of children aged five to 11 are Charedi. At the meeting, Kanievsky gave support for the vaccine drive and said all children ages five and up should receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Kanievsky’s grandson Yanky, who acts as a spokesman and go-between for his 93-yearold grandfather, has received threats on the street. People have reportedly yelled “You are murderers” and have accused him of having “children’s blood” on his hands.

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Viral obituary / Israel restrictions / News briefs / World News

Son’s obituary for ‘plus-sized redneck’ mother goes viral

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

A son’s online obituary of his Jewish mother who died in Texas last weekend has gone viral as a result of its colourful description of her life.

Andy Corren began his 1,000-word tribute to his 84-year-old Renay Mandel Corren by stating: “A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday.”

The obituary, in the Fayetteville Observer, in the North Carolina city near where Corren lived for many years, was tweeted by the crime writer Colourful family: Renay Mandel Corren and son Andy Sarah Weinman, leading to it going viral.

Corren left few secrets on his mother’s life out of five brothers and my sister-in-laws, nephews, of the tribute. “She left me nothing but these lousy friends, nieces, neighbours, ex-boyfriends, Larry memories,” he wrote. “ Which I, and my family King’s children, who I guess I might be one of, the

total strangers who all, to a person, loved and will cherish her. Forever.

“Please think of the brightly-frocked, frivolous, funny and smart Jewish redhead who is about to grift you, tell you a filthy joke, and for Larry King’s sake: LAUGH. Bye, Mommy. We loved you to bits.”

Detailing a life spent mostly in North Carolina, Florida and Texas, he said of his mother’s time on this earth: “Hers was a bawdy, rowdy life lived large, broke and loud.

“We thought Renay could not be killed. God knows, people tried. A lot.”

Born to a Jewish family in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Corren said his mother had “first fell in love with ham, and atheism”.

The obit detailed how after the breakdown of marriage, she lived in Miami and, most recently, with a son in El Paso.

UK AND DENMARK ADDED TO ISRAEL’S COVID RED LIST Israel has put the UK and Denmark on its Covid-19 ‘red list’ owing to concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.

Israeli citizens and permanent residents are forbidden from travelling to ‘red’ countries from Israel, unless they get permission from the government.

The countries were added to this list

at midnight last Thursday. Director of public health Sharon Alroy-Preis told a news conference that Israelis would be forbidden from travelling to the UK. The healthy ministry’s website says: “All [Israeli] travellers coming to Israel from a country on the red list, including vaccinated or recovered indi-

viduals, will be taken to managed isolation facility, until their PCR test result taken on arrival is negative. If the result is negative, they will be allowed to complete isolation at home, provided they declare they can isolate alone, with no household members or other persons.

“All non-Israeli citizens coming

from a country on the red list will not be allowed to enter Israel, unless they have permission from the Exceptions Committee.”

France, Spain, Ireland, Finland, Sweden and the UAE are expected to be added to the red list on Sunday. Most African nations are already on it.

Israeli shot dead in West Bank ambush

A 25-year-old was killed and two of his companions injured in a gun attack on a car carrying Israelis in the West Bank. The dead man was Yehuda Dimentman, 25, a passenger, who lived in the settlement of Shavei Shomron and studied at a yeshiva in Homesh, an outpost of settlers about 20 miles east of Netanya. The car was travelling to Homesh when it was ambushed. The IDF said it had found the weapon used in the attack.

Abramovich now a citizen of Portugal

Billionaire philanthropist and owner of Chelsea Football Club Roman Abramovich has become a Portuguese citizen under the country’s new regulations relating to descendants of Portuguese Jews. Sources close to Abramovich have told Jewish News that research revealed that parts of his family were expelled from Portugal in 1496, and, along with many other Portuguese Jews, ended up in Hamburg.

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Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.

1242

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

Rays of hope amid Send us your comments the Omicron gloom PO Box 815, Edgware, HA8 4SX | letters@jewishnews.co.uk

Looking back at 2021, the temptation is to characterise it as a year of doom and gloom, in which the British Jewish community lost nearly 1,000 of its members to the ongoing pandemic, antisemitism remained a continuing blight, and there was, once again, renewed fighting between Israel and the terrorists of Hamas.

There were notable sadnesses, including the death in Manchester of a severely disabled baby girl, Alta Fixler, and an attack on Rabbi Rafi Goodwin near his Chigwell synagogue. Relations with the BBC were strained after its reporting of the antisemitic attack on a Chanukah bus full of teenagers.

But there were bright spots, too, and an optimism and confidence in our future, led by the Chief Rabbi, with the year-end launch of his Project Welcome, working in conjunction with the United Synagogue, a sort of ‘levelling-up’ for Anglo-Jewry.

In 2021, the Board of Deputies published its groundbreaking racial inclusivity report, a first of its kind for any faith community, with guides for improving racial harmony across denominations.

Sir Keir Starmer’s clear determination to root out antisemitism from Labour led to a massive improvement in relations between UK Labour and the Israeli Labor Party. And that party’s former leader, Isaac Herzog, became the 11th president of Israel in July.

A long-heralded convulsion in Israeli politics led to the creation of an extraordinary coalition, which included, for the first time, an Arab party. After 11 years in power, Benjamin Netanyahu was obliged to stand down as prime minister. The previous year’s Abraham Accords offered new, unheard-of good relations with countries such as Bahrain and the UAE. Lindsay Taylor-Guthartz completed a semicha programme in New York entitling her to call herself ‘rabba’ — and the popular educator, after a flurry, now continues to teach at the London School of Jewish Studies.

Lord Reading announced his decision to take Israeli citizenship, and the Imperial War Museum opened its stunning new gallery dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust.

So there were plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Bring on 2022!

My distaste for kugel

I write regarding Sarah Sultman’s recent column (9 December) headlined: “For the first time in my life, I am struggling with my relationship with Israel”. The writer strikes me, in spite of various Jewish commitments, to lack insight and understanding of the greater issues involved and what Israel faces on a daily basis. Her reasoning is self-centred.

I can’t stand people like this, who pop up among our own from time to time. Israel has much on its plate yet this person thinks the state should make decisions around her.

As for your daughter, Sarah, if you have brought her up with the correct values and knowledge of Judaism and Israel, you should have no problem. Everyone who has any experience and knowledge of Israel knows that when

Shabbat goes out Saturday night 4.50pm

Sedra: Shemot

David Hersch Chairman, SAIPAC – the South African Israel Public Affairs Committee

Sketches & kvetches

WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE ABOUT THE NATIONAL FRONT LEADER?

“I’m afraid our current measures may not offer the same protection against the new variant!”

I attended the protest against the BBCs twisted reporting of the attack on the Chabad Chanukah bus. Of course, I was sickened when I was told that the leader of the vile National Front was standing in the midst of us. The police weren’t there to do anything about it. The CST weren’t doing anything about it. So it was up to us to get rid of the Jew hater in our midst. We removed him and the community applauded us and thanked us for what we did.

Now compare and contrast with three years ago when I attended a counter-demonstration against a known Jew hater and Holocaust denier. I did to her no worse than I did to the leader of the National Front and yet the community widely condoned me – called me a far-right activist and I became persona non grata with organisations such as the BoD. So what is the difference…. One is a Jew hater who wears a Nazi hat. The other is a Jew hater who wears a pro-Palestine hat. I see only the fact that they are both Jew haters. The Establishment, however, seems to find Jew hatred by certain people acceptable.

Why? Answers on a postcard, addressed to the Board of Deputies.

Damon Lenszner, executive director, Herut UK

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she eventually goes to Israel, it will be the happiest and finest experience of her life. Your daughter will absorb knowledge, history, a sense of belonging and an understanding of a truly fine people and country to be found nowhere else on earth.

Where I live in South Africa, in our Jewish community you would be referred to as a ‘kugel’, the equivalent of an American ‘Jewish princess’. As we know, a kugel is a potato pudding and the reason we call these people kugels is because a kugel, the potato pudding, is very nice, rich and delicious, BUT, if you have too much of it you’ll feel sick.

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Editorial comment and letters

BRAVO TO A WFC REMEMBER 38TH How good it was to read about Watford Football Club’s Chanukah celebration (Jewish News, 9 December). This enterprise, aimed at combating antisemitism not just among people at Watford, but going forward at all football stadiums, could be a game-changer in the field of racism in football. I look forward to many more such celebrations in the future.

May Watford’s fine example be replicated across many other clubs as soon as possible so that Jewish people (players, supporters and all) can feel safe and welcome, everywhere. A WFC (wonderful football cause) for WFC. J D Milaric, By email

Derek Taylor’s description (Jewish News, 9 December) of the campaign for Jerusalem in 1917 failed to mention the efforts of the 38th (Jewish) Battalion Royal Fusiliers under the command of Lt Col John Henry Patterson (who was also CO of Zion Mule Corp in the Gallipoli campaign).

Stanley Roth, Sutton

CLAIMING SUCHET Much as I admire Sir David Suchet, it is inappropriate to claim him as a ‘Jewish thespian’. He is a convert to Christianity.

Dr Anne Summers By email

Stop the Middle East moralising

Some ‘settlements’ came before Israel

Yachad’s Danielle Bett’s column (2 December) contained evocative words about a “violent Israeli settler” and a “suffering Palestinian”, to elicit sympathy for the latter. Violence perpetrated by either side is abhorrent but there isn’t quantitative, qualitative or moral equivalence between the two.

Eda Spinka, Hendon

Danielle Bett’s group Yachad points the finger at the Jewish state to end the socalled occupation. The half-million Israeli citizens beyond the Green Line shouldn’t be called ‘settlers’. Some of the ‘settlements’, such as Gush Etzion, pre-date the state and were destroyed by invading Arabs in 1948 before being rebuilt.

Walter S Grossman, Gants Hill

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

Opinion

Turbulent year concluded by peculiar opinion piece ALEX BRUMMER

CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

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he past year has been a rollercoaster for Jewish communities home and away. Here in the UK the pandemic put enormous pressure on traditional synagogue worship, which partly explains the Chief Rabbi’s ‘Project Welcome’ initiative launched in this newspaper last week with the mission of recreating community excellence.

In the Middle East the pendulum swung wildly. The ruckus over repossession of Palestinian-occupied homes in Jerusalem in May escalated into rocket assaults on Israel’s civilian populations and yet another Gaza war.

The resulting violence, mayhem and deaths on the streets of Israel’s mixed cities were the worst scenes of inter-community violence since the 1948 War of Independence.

It needed a crisis of confidence to shake Israel out of its relentless political stalemate.

The opposition forces that swept Benjamin Netanyahu from power were a motley coalition.

But the government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid presented a refreshing face to the world.

More importantly, the inclusion of Islamist Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas and Israeli-Arabs in the government overcame a lacuna in Israel’s democracy.

On the global stage, watching Lapid hold talks in Berlin and take part in a Chanukah candle-lighting in Downing Street was a refreshing break from the strange Netanyahu love-in with Hungarian autocrat Orban. Similarly, the underlining of the Abraham Accords by two days of talks between Bennett and UAE’s de facto leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was an inspiring scene. .

One was reminded of the deep sectarian divides that make the Middle East so explosive by a curious opinion page article in the Sunday Times by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem Hosam Naoum. The antagonism to Christians in Arab Lands such as bombings of Coptic Christian sites in Egypt has long been a scar across the Middle East.

Welby’s article focused on what were referred to as attacks on Christians throughout

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BLAME FOR THE ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS WAS ASCRIBED TO ‘FRINGE RADICAL GROUPS’ the Holy Land. The contribution was peculiarly lacking in detail, with no attempt to describe the Holy Land geographically, an area which partly exists within Israel’s green line borders but stretches into the disputed territories of the West Bank and includes parts of Jerusalem.

Blame for the attacks on Christians was ascribed to “fringe radical groups”. Incomprehensibly there was no effort to define who these hostile groups might be. But there were disobliging references to settler communities and Israel’s security fences without explaining how these might be related to attacks on Christian communities, sites and institutions.

The two archbishops comment on the decline in the population of Christians in the Holy Land from 10 percent under the Ottomans to two percent now. That is a big reduction but not surprising when one considers the influx

into the region of Holocaust survivors from Europe, expelled Jews from Arab lands and escapees from Russian oppression.

Similarly, the spread of Islamic extremism made Christians in Bethlehem much less welcome. There are probably more Palestinian Christian exiles in Detroit than in Christ’s birthplace. The ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict may have made the region uncomfortable for its native Palestinian-Christians.

In that regard successive Israeli governments must bear some responsibility for the Christian diaspora from the Middle East.

Nevertheless, Israel’s reverence for Christian sites and restorations, such as St Peter’s Anglican Church in Jaffa, is beyond dispute.

It is at odds with the assertion that Christians are being targeted and isolated by unidentified radical groups.

Mental health must be at heart of our working lives DAVID ARDEN CEO OF WORK AVENUE

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s we look back over another challenging year for so many in our community, one key aspect of our health that should never be ignored is our mental wellbeing.

This is especially true when it comes to the workplace. According to the mental health charity Mind, at least one in six workers experience common mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, a statistic that is only likely to increase given the uncertain times we are currently experiencing.

For people in employment, it has been another 12 months of stresses around health, job security and career development.

Those with small businesses have had real concerns about whether they will be able to continue to make a living, particularly in areas like hospitality which continues to be a very unpredictable sector.

A few months ago, even a few weeks ago, it did seem as if things were getting back to some sense of ‘normal’.

Then, just as we were all beginning to

return to working in the office, and the pleasures and benefits that this brings with it, the Omicron variant arrived.

We were asked once more to start working from home – if our job allowed for that.

And so, once again, as the rate of infection continues its rise, there is for so many, an accompanying rise in our feelings of nervousness and concern. And, once again, we also start to lose those vital human interactions that the workplace provides.

We know only too well how hard it can be for many people to focus on earning a living when their heads are full of much that is distracting – or threatening to derail – them.

At Work Avenue, we do not regard ourselves as experts, but we have all been trained in Mental Health First Aid and are acutely aware of the impact of mental wellbeing on people’s ability to do their work, whether they are employed or self-employed.

We have seen first-hand how some clients have experienced a range of mental health issues as a result of the pandemic, be they problems sleeping, general anxiety or other more profound difficulties.

Mental wellbeing must be at the heart of all discussions around employment and

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OUR CONFERENCE WILL OFFER ADVICE AND TIPS TO HELP YOU REFOCUS business in the Jewish community.

At the end of 2020, Work Avenue surveyed all those who use our services and found that half reported that employment or business worries during lockdown had caused a negative impact on their mental health.

When we run the survey again shortly, we are expecting similar results.

Luckily, there are lots of places for those in our community to turn to for help.

The Jami Mental Health Awareness Shabbat takes place on 7/8 January. A crosscommunal event, it’s a chance for the entire community to focus on and raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing.

There is also Raphael, the Jewish Counselling Service, where individuals can arrange to see a counsellor for emotional support.

Then there is our Wellbeing at Work

Conference, delivered virtually on 19 January, which will offer practical advice, together with plenty of hints and tips, to help you refocus and rebalance amid the stresses and uncertainties of our times.

As we turn our attention to 2022 and the year ahead, with all its likely challenges, we must remember that when it comes to work and business, mental wellbeing is not just a nice to have.

It is essential for all individuals and workplaces and can help to ensure high performance, reduce risk of burnout and create an open, supportive and healthy environment where people can develop and thrive.

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23 December 2021 Jewish News

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23 December 2021

Special Report / Year of belly laughs

Sketch ‘n’ kvetch Paul Solomons’ mischievous take on Jewish news in 2021 Jewish News’ resident scribbler Paul Solomons manages to conjure up chuckles in every edition. On these pages, in celebration of the magical – some might say vital – art of finding humour in unexpected events and situations, are some of the illustrations that brought the most smiles from readers and staff alike in 2021.

London-based Solomons, who works as an animator as well as a cartoonist, has said he loves drawing characters with big noses (“They amuse me”) and, judging by the feedback we get, they amuse our readers too – well, most of them!

“Oh-oh! This could be the start of a second wave”

“Sorry to steal your thunder, Emma!”

“Great news, guys. It looks like they’re ready to welcome us pigeons back to Trafalgar Square. They’ve installed a perch!”

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Year of belly laughs / Special Report

“No, your husband’s not got coronavirus – he’s got kenahoravirus”

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players – they each have their exits and entrances”. William Shakespeare

“I know I paid $450,000 for my ticket, but I also ordered a kosher meal and I’m not about to waste it!”

“I beg to differ!”

“Your son just entered the Senate? What a coincidence honey, so did mine!”

“I think you’ve left the ‘terrible disappointment’ filter on!”

“And the ... ahem...third tablet!”

“...I’m looking for an investment of two hours to know 20% of my business!”

“My son had to be Mr Klutz! Why couldn’t he have been more like ­ ittle Miss Kvell’s son, Dr Mensch?!”

L

“But surely my son’s exempt from wearing a mask because he’s so handsome, kenahora!”

24 Jewish News

23 December 2021

L I F E Jew they know it’s

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Inside A look

Who, what & where Pet Panto Nu? York

CHRISTMAS? Is it chicken soup and lokshen or carrots for the reindeer?

Micaela Blitz looks at how Jews acknowledge ‘the most wonderful time of the year’

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hether or not you celebrate, tomorrow is Christmas Eve in the UK and around the world. And then it’s 25 December.

For many in our community, the streams of fairy lights and bauble-decked trees in town centres are not a distraction. For those individuals, Shabbat – with all the Friday night trimmings – will continue seamlessly, as it has done for thousands of years.

There is a possible transport dilemma, due to reduced bus routes, but observant liberals will manage, as Edgware and Hendon Reform synagogue, along with other shuls, have appealed to members who can offer lifts.

‘Live and let live’ is the UK’s mantra and we are lucky to reside in a country where the singing of Let it Snow or Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire isn’t mandatory. With the former written by Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne and the latter by Mel Torme, it’s arguable we should be familiar with the words. as well with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and countless other Christmas songs written by Jewish composers who, in the 20th century, found music to be one of the rare industries where antisemitism wasn’t rife. So don’t feel guilty if you start humming Jonny Marks’ Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer, because you won’t be alone. There are a lot of Jewish families who get into the seasonal swing and even hang stockings by the fireplace that aren’t Bubbe’s 80 deniers.

recalling that last year she had to isolate on Christmas Day, she decided to ditch the bah humbug attitude and get into the Christmas spirit. However there was a caveat – it was yes to a tree, but only if it was decorated with a Jewish theme. “We have bagels, boxes of kneidel mix , packets of Bissli and the blue-andwhite Israeli flag on the top,” says Andrea. “I love it – it brings me joy

when I look at it. Although I’m very proud to be Jewish, I also recognise that I live in England and Christmas is all around us, so why not embrace it?

“Rabbi Sacks once said: ‘For though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we each are free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world.’”

Rachel Creeger

THE COMEDIAN

THE KOSHER TREE

When Andrea Solomon’s daughter asked if they could have a tree this year, she initially said no, but

Andrea Solomon

Orthodox comedian and writer Rachel Creeger does not celebrate Christmas, but she does find this time of year magical.

“I often do Christmas gigs and parties alongside Chanukah events and I mention in my set that I secretly quite like Christmas,” she says. “Growing up I used to think this time of year was sparkly and glamorous and I was always a little jealous of all my non-Jewish friends having trees and decorations.

“I come from a medical family, so on Christmas Day they usually worked to cover for Christian colleagues. My cousins would often have a family get-together on the day or two after. It was never really to celebrate Christmas, but a chance to all meet up. My husband’s family are a mix of religions, so we have a mish-mash of Christmas cards and Chanukah presents.”

Rachel would usually be at Limmud over Christmas, but because it is online this year, Christmas Day itself will just be a quiet Shabbat at home with her husband. “I might do a turkey cholent as a nod to both cultures and a bit of fun.”

THE NURSE

Abigail Nursing assistant Wise Abigail Wise will be doing her first Christmas shift at the Royal Free Hospital. Having made a major career change in April after being a PA to a rabbi, this year her surroundings will be quite different.

“I would normally go to a kosher restaurant on Christmas Day, but instead I will be doing a 12-hour shift on the infectious diseases ward,” says Abigail. “We won’t know how many patients will be staying in for Christmas until the day, but there could potentially be up to 22 who will need to be cared for. For staff who want it I think there will be a Christmas meal, but I won’t be having that. There are no decorations or anything, so I guess it will feel just like a normal day.”

THE RABBI

Rabbi Wollenberg will be treating Christmas Day like any other Shabbat, but over the festive period he thinks it is important to help others and will be spreading his own Rabbi Wollenberg goodwill.

“My family and members of our community from Woodford Forest Synagogue will be taking biscuits and treats to those working in the emergency services to show our appreciation of what they are doing by giving up their special day,” he says. “I think it is something positive for the local community and we always get a great response when we visit hospitals, ambulance crews, fire stations and police stations in the area.”

THE SALES MANAGER

When Marc Jacobs isn’t doing his day job as sales manager at Jewish News, he is more than happy to don a red suit and fake beard, all in the name of the festive season. During

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23 December 2021 Jewish News

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Jews at Christmas / News fun and went and stood lockdown last year, by the Jaffa Gate. He Marc hooked up with says: “Lots of children two friends to bring a came over and asked bit of Christmas joy to questions. I realised more than 700 families. that while Santa is Their Santa garden deeply embedded visits and door-knock in western cultures, surprise appearances in Israel – the place were a great success. where Christmas began This year they – we only know Santa donned their red suits through television and again to appear at seven movies. I wanted to Christmas parties at give the same joy to the Allum Hall in Borehamchildren of Israel.” wood and, down the Santa in the This year Issa road, opposite Kosher garden grotto travelled to the Golan Deli and the kosher Heights to film a Christmas greeting restaurant Sababa, they have built to share around the world. He had a grotto. Set up like Santa’s sitting a few adventures along the way, room with a fireplace and a framed including kayaking on the River photo of Rudolf on the table, chilJordan with Christmas tree in tow, dren visiting might easily assume cycling with Chris Froome and fellow they have been transported to his members of the Israel Start-Up digs in the North Pole.

Nation professional cycling team, “Most of our guests are Jewish,” and watching the sun set over the Sea says Marc, who lives locally and of Galilee - the perfect place to spread recognises pupils from Yavneh and his message of love, peace and joy.

Clore Shalom among the mix of those wanting a word with Father Christmas.

THE JERUSALEMITE

Jerusalem has its own Santa in the shape of Issa Anis Kassissieh. His role as the only official Holy Land Santa began when he found a Santa Claus outfit in the loft, donned it for

Issa Anis Kassissieh

SANTA IS NOT JUST FOR CHRISTIANS For Rick Rosenthal, being Santa Claus is not just for Christmas, but for life. Despite being an observant Jew living in an Orthodox community in Georgia, USA, he has made being Santa into a full-time job and even runs his own Santa school, along with his wife (Elf) Tracy.

Rosenthal first started dressing up as Santa as a teenager, entertaining his non-Jewish friends and decorating their trees with bagels.

When his parents died within two weeks of each other, Rick grew a beard as a sign of mourning, as is the Jewish tradition. A few weeks later, while shopping in his local Home Depot store , he saw a little boy staring at him while trying to get his father’s attention.

“I knew what the boy was thinking, and what I had to do. I walked over to him, put my hand on my lips like Santa does to do the ‘shhh’ sound and I got right in his face and I said, ‘Don’t tell anyone you saw Santa buying tools for the elves in Home Depot.’”

Whilst some may say it’s not a job for a Jewish boy, Rosenthal does not see a contradiction between his faith and his job. For him, Santa isn’t a religious figure or a saint but just someone who helps people and brings joy.

“As Jews, we are to be a light unto the world,” he said. “That’s one of our jobs. If we can help make people’s lives better, we should do that.”

Rick Rosenthal

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

JN LIFE

&

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WHO WHAT WHERE FILM

Magic at the Movies

There are lots of seasonal movies with Jewish connections. Here are a just a few

MUSICALS

Big on Broadway Hold on to the plane’s undercarriage if necessary but you need to get to New York in March to see Billy Crystal star in the musical adaptation of his film Mr Saturday Night. They don’t make ’em more menschy than Crystal, who co-wrote the story of Buddy Young Jr, an outrageous and outspoken comedian who found fame, if not fortune, in the early days of television. A historic broiges with his brother that he wants to sort out puts him back in the spotlight for one last time. With co-writers Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and composer Jason Robert Brown, this is the musical you won’t want to miss, in the same way you can’t pass up the chance to see Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl or four-time Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks doing his brilliant best with Hugh Jackman in The Music Man and Rob McClure in the musical Mrs Doubtfire. Yes, it’s far away and requires tests Beanie Feldstein and forms, but look what you’re getting!

Holiday Inn (1942) was directed by Mark Sandrich, whose father, Jacob Goldstein, was a Europeanborn rabbi. The music is by Irving Berlin and the film Fred Astaire stars Fred Astaire, who was born Frederick Austerlitz in Nebraska. His mother was German Lutheran and his father an Austrian immigrant was apparently born Jewish. Astaire’s paternal grandparents were originally from Prague, when it was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As German-speaking Jews who moved to Austria proper in the mid19th century, they, like so many, became Catholics.

‘MIRACLE’ HIT

It’s Showtime!

This month, Hasmonean Girls pulled off their miracle of Page Street. With superb casting and phenomenal dancers, everything about their sensational production of Matilda said loud and clear: ‘The Hasmo Show is back!’

The story of Matilda is a simple one: a young girl who finds her voice in the world with the help of her friends and her teachers.

Dinah B shone as Matilda, with stellar support from Yehudit G as the charming Miss Honey, Sara B as Miss Trunchbull and Shoshi E, Shani J and Lily D as the revolting Wormwoods. The two dances, School Song and Revolting Children, were beautifully choreographed by a dedicated Year 12 team.

The show raises funds for the Y12 Poland Trip, to ensure that no girl misses this vital part of her school experience.

White Christmas (1954) was written by the Jewish triumvirate Norman Panama, Norman Krasna and Melvin Frank, with music by Irving Berlin. Starring Danny Kaye, who was born David Daniel Kaminsky in Brooklyn, the actor became the public face of the then-struggling UNICEF in the ’50s, devoting thousands of hours to the fund over the course of his lifetime. Now that’s what you call a Santa!

Miracle on 34th Street (1947). The film about the real Santa getting hired for Macy’s grotto was remade in 1994 with the little girl Susan

TELEVISION

Sweet as Sugar Everyone’s favourite Jewish boss Lord Sugar will be back on our screens in January with a new series of The Apprentice. Former winner Tim Campbell will be one of his aides, standing in for Claude Littner, who is recovering from an operation.

“Tim will step into Claude’s seat and be my eyes and ears as the candidates face a tough set of business challenges,” says

Mara Wilson

played by actress Mara Wilson, then aged seven.

Wilson’s late mother was Jewish and was asked during an interview to promote the film if she believed in Santa Claus, Mara replied: “No, I don’t. We’re Jewish.”

Lord Sugar. Campbell won the first series of The Apprentice in 2005, founded charity the Bright Ideas Trust, which helps young people to set up their own businesses, received an MBE in 2012, and now runs his own digital marketing agency.

The Apprentice has had a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

The BBC is said to have begun work on a further two series of the show, so there’s plenty more to come. “We would have been doing series 16 this year and I was happy to do four more,” Lord Sugar says. “I think 20 years is a nice round figure.”

The Apprentice starts on BBC1 on 6 January

This Month In Jewish History...

By Jewish News historian, Derek Taylor

HERITAGE

Mary’s Moment A 2,000-year-old synagogue from the Second Temple period has recently been discovered in Migdal, a large Jewish settlement from the time when Jesus of Nazareth was alive. Migdal was the main base for Yosef Ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus) in his war against the Romans in the Galilee. Migdal also crops up in Christian texts as the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, a prominent supporter of Jesus. The newly excavated synagogue is the second to be uncovered in the area and it’s timely what with it being so close in the calendar to the birth of Jesus. So when we are allowed to go back to Israel, swing by!

When George III came to the throne in 1760 the Sephardim called on him to offer their congratulations. The Ashkenazim from the Great Synagogue objected to not being included in the delegation and therefore, on 14 December, 1760, the Board of Deputies of British Jews was founded. It has now represented the community for more than 250 years and if there is one thing we Brits like, it’s tradition. The Board’s delegates are democratically elected and can be very independent. Notably, when the president of the Board wrote to The Times in 1917 to say the British Jews didn’t want a national home, the Board met after the Balfour Declaration and passed a resolution (56 to 51) contradicting the president, who had to resign. The votes against came primarily from provincial delegates, who had not been consulted about the letter and objected. It was not until the Second World War, however, that the Board adopted the Zionist cause.

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JN LIFE

LEFT: Central Park. ABOVE: One of the many chanukiot that dot the city in December

the New York Historical Society on West 88th. With a permanent exhibit paying homage to all 45 presidents, including a recreation of the Oval Office, a spectacular display of Tiffany lamps and the ‘Holiday Express’ showcase of toy trains from the privately owned Jerni collection, you could easily (and we did) spend half a day here. The main draw for us was an exhibition about much-lauded Jewish judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The Pickle Guys: great for a photocall Born and raised in Brooklyn, she was burger, this cocoon of a room is lined one of only a few women in her class at Harvard, and a staunch advocate of with black and white photos of celebs.

Gallaghers was ideal for a pricey-butgender equality and women’s rights. worth-it pre-theatre steak. The theaWe strode the 30 blocks back to tres dimmed their lights that night midtown through Central Park, with in tribute to Stephen Sondheim but the remaining russet leaves creating there was no doubt that Rob McClure a beautiful foreground to the buildwas on fire in the starring role at justings, which got taller as we walked opened Mrs Doubtfire. Every bit as towards them, and then we chanced good as the film, with song, dance and on the lovely surprise of a skating ground floor at the Arlo is very much some extra quirky story lines thrown rink right there in the park. a hangout zone with a large bar, loads in, this is a must-see.

At the other end of the scale (city) of seating areas including a big indoor We took a Jewish Heritage tour we journeyed across the East River to garden, interesting (and inexpensive of the Lower East Side with Russ Dumbo, a newly

by NY standards) Wolin from Spread Love NYC Tours gentrified area in dishes to order (formerly Levys Unique NY). We visBrooklyn. A few wherever you’re ited synagogues both in use and long trendy shops and sitting, live music since turned over to other uses, and cafes in consome nights and a walked along ‘Yiddish Newspaper verted industrial café with surprisRow’, home to the building in which buildings line the ingly good ‘cawThe Jewish Daily Forward, founded cobbled streets of fee’. (Is it just me in 1897, was produced. Originally this former ferry or is the coffee in Yiddish, it’s still going online (in generally undrink- The Arlo is very much a hangout zone landing area, and English!). We learned that the Wilthere’s the Time Out food market able everywhere stateside?). The liamsburg Bridge was known as Jew to eat at. We walked back across hotel is walkable to Times Square Bridge when the sweatshop workers Brooklyn Bridge, with the iconic and, having arrived at night, that was used it to commute to and from their Manhattan skyline ahead and the the first thing we did, before dinner homes in Brooklyn and that Ratners Statue of Liberty seeming to rise at Mercato Trattoria, an eaterie so kosher restaurant was the place for out of the water on our left. Truly a authentic that all staff and diners a post-theatre nosh up. We saw the highlight of the visit. were Italian. former site of Streit’s Matzo Factory, We discovered Bryant Park, home In an effort to save time and the last-ever NYC Public Baths and to yet another skating rink and a calories we were on two meals a an unassuming cafe that was once the Christmas market as good as I’ve day. Brunch at cutesy French café headquarters for Ma Mandelbaum’s seen anywhere in Europe. With hot Buvette in the West Village called for school for pickpockets. chocolates and s’mores mimosas, grilled cheese sandwiches, Of course we stopped we wandered round French toast and madeleines, while for a photocall outside with glee, festive spirit at rustic-chic Sadelles in Soho we The Pickle Guys – when seeping into our pores. tucked into the famous tower of in New York…!

We dined at the instibagels, cream cheese and smoked tution that is Il Mulino, salmon (it seems NYC has finally • Rooms at Arlo Midtown an old-school whitemoved on from rubbery lox and disstart at $134 plus taxes tableclothed Italian with covered our refined Scottish variety).

• nyhistory.org an older crowd and New Sarabeth’s is a brunch institu• broadwaycollection.

York-sized portions. tion that I always visit when in the com At Minetta Tavern the city. It’s perhaps a bit of a bygone era • levysuniqueny.com/ age level dropped while now, but its apple cinnamon French tours/jews-gangstersthe noise level went up. toast still had me in its clutches and Larger than life: the giant politics-of-the-lowerHome to the Black Label it was the ideal location for a visit to east-side dreidel on Fifth Avenue

NU? YORK Louisa Walters discovers plenty of pre-Christmas Jewish sentiment in the Big Apple

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days’ is said on repeat by shop staff here are an estimated 1.2 like a mantra. million Jews in New York.

Every time I visit New York I vow That’s four times as many to stay in upmarket Soho or trendy as in the whole of the Greenwich Village, but ultimately UK. From the matzo ball soup at Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side midtown is where it’s at for me. We checked in to the Arlo Midtown on (not kosher, but the one at Ben’s West 38th and 8th. This is the garon 38th street is) to the giant ment district and the shop windows dreidel on Fifth Avenue, and chasparkle, not with festive decorations nukiot shining brightly on street but with fabrics and trimmings. corners and in office foyers, I was A 489-room hotel, the Arlo thrilled to be part of this crowd Midtown opened in May this year, last week as I pounded the streets forming a hat-trick with Arlo NoMad to the tune of 25,000 steps a day and Arlo Soho, and in unseasonably its interiors are warm weather. contemporary-style New York at with lots of pale wood, Christmas-time is a industrial metal dream. The skating elements, abstract and the tree at art and greenery.

Rockefeller Plaza that Rooms are bijou you’ve seen a hundred but well appointed times in movies – I with superb lighting, cried when I saw them supremely comfortfor real. Saks Fifth able beds and huge Avenue has a full-on TVs (who doesn’t music-and-lights show love having the TV on on the front of the in their room in the building, akin to the USA?!). I love a hotel Bellagio fountains in with a vibe and the Vegas. ‘Happy HoliThe tree at Rockefeller Plaza

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

JN LIFE / Pet corner

Fur flush

Santa Paws is on his way to some homes, but allPaws Cleansing Dog Shampoo (£14) isn’t tied to a sleigh, because it is a natural way to provide faithful hounds with a bath without irritating delicate skin. www.greenpeople.co.uk

DON’T JUDGE ME With TV’s favourite legal eagle Robert Rinder as his owner, French Bulldog Rocco is ready to unleash...

For the past few weeks I’ve been on my own. Well, not entirely, as the Judge would never do such a thing. But if I had to take the stand, this French Bull Dog could swear under oath that he has been left to navigate the pre-festive period sans owner, as he who should be obeyed is off treading the boards. In Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs would you believe? As he was reluctant to reveal his character when he first told me about the offer, I set about making my own deductions, as I’ve been taught by the best.

Initially my money was on Ms Neige Blanche, what with drag being so current (where is our invite to the show, Ru Paul?), but quicky dismissed the idea despite his uncanny ability to walk in heels. After a long nap – well, what else is a lonely dog meant to do? – I rose, refreshed, and realised that as a vertically challenged Jewish man (aren’t they all) he was more likely to be cast as a) Sleepy (he loves his 40 winks); b) Dopey (that would irk him) or c) Bashful (as if!). But I was wrong. Turns out he is playing The Man in the Mirror at the Bristol Hippodrome, a role he was born to play because he is just so, well… judgey. “Who is the fairest of them all?” becomes a rhetorical question on his lips, but he has to respond to Lesley Joseph, who is playing the wicked queen.

The WhatsApp messages he has sent me seem to suggest that Chigwell Dorian is anything but wicked and arrives nightly with heimeshe delicacies to nosh between acts. If Blondie’s Debbie Harry drops by, I would suggest that Lesley offers her some bagels to block her ears, because the boss sings One Way or Another as past of his schtick and covers are always painful for the original artist. As the cast are in a theatrical bubble and all attempts to have me play a reindeer failed, I will just have to wait until the Judge comes home. He has dropped hints about a studded Gucci collar, but that could be for him. Finally I’d like to remind you that dogs aren’t just for… that holiday we aren’t meant to mention.

So Merry Whatever!

Rocco Rinder

Bow wow book

Want to know the best dog-friendly coffee shop, hotel or parks in London? This book, compiled by cult dog magazine Four & Sons, is packed full of locals’ tips on how to enjoy the city with your pooch. Full of original photography and four-legged advice on where to go fetch a stick (both in London and just beyond), how to meet other dog owners or where to get a schnauzer’s beard trimmed, you won’t want to leave home without it – or Fido. Does anyone call their dog Fido any more?

Holiday help

Two By Two Vets in Finchley prides itself on being wise before the event. Hence the seasonal warnings from clinical director Dr Andrew Monchar. “There is a lot of chocolate about during the festive period, but it contains theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs and cats, so store it well out of their reach!”

Dr Monchar also recommends supervising all pets near open fires and log burners, and taking care with sharp poultry carcass bones, which when broken can get lodged in the throat and stomach. “Please also be aware of small pets living outside,” he adds. “They require extra-warm dry bedding, regular checks and unfrozen drinking water.

“And antifreeze for cars tastes sweet to pets, but is potentially fatal if swallowed. Please clear away any spills and don’t let your pet drink from puddles.”

For care, vaccines and health checks895 visit www.twobytwovets. co.uk or call 020 3865 8905

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 December 2021 Jewish News

29

Pet corner / JN LIFE

Potter’s pets

Nothing escapes Christmas, even reluctant Jews. So it is no surprise that Harry Potter World in Leavesden, Watford, is under a foot of snow. There’s only an inch or two actually and it’s fake, obviously, courtesy of the big art department

at the studio. But the tall fir trees and lavish spread of turkey, spuds and rabbit mould chocolate mousse on the long tables in Hogwarts Grand Hall evoke festive in a very filmic way.

If you haven’t been to HP World yet, you really should, as it offers access to every aspect

of the creative brilliance that has made the films so remarkable. Regular visitors always find something new to see amid the props, sets and costumes on display and the latest addition is pet corner.

There are real animals – as in Hedwig the owl and Fang the Neapolitan Mastiff, who belongs to Hagrid – and fantastical ones like Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix. As a tribute to the real animals who appeared on screen, there is now a wall of pet thesps, with the cats who played caretaker Argus Filch’s Mrs Norris and

Hermione’s Crookshanks. These are no ordinary felines, as Mrs Norris can spot students misbehaving and Crookshanks knew that Ron’s rat Scabbers was not a rodent, but a man in disguise. For animal lovers, the wall of four-legged film stars is a reason to visit, with or without snow.

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30

Jewish News 23 December 2021

Business / Maritime technology

candicekrieger@googlemail.com

With Candice Krieger

ISRAELI TECH FIRM DROPS ANCHOR IN LONDON Founded by two ex-navy officers, maritime AI company Windward provides real-time data to companies to improve efficiency and help manage risk, writes Candice Krieger

A

n Israeli tech company ported by sea and some that is digitalising 400 billion containers the global maria year and we are time industry providing different has listed on elements of risk the London recommendaStock Exchange, making it tions and the first Israeli technology perspectives firm to float in the City for on the ships, the more than five years. cargoes that are Windward, founded by former being transported navy officers Ami Daniel and Matan and the companies Peled, and chaired by Lord Browne, that are transporting the former boss of BP, is aimed at them.” addressing the key challenges faced by Ami Daniel He told Jewish News the shipping industry.

Business a few days after The company develops AI technology for the IPO: “We firmly believe that maritime AI analysing maritime risks by providing real-time is going to make a real difference to hundreds data, and mapping and analysing information of thousands of organisations – from helping about shipping traffic. This allows users to make gifts to actually arrive by managing the supply informed decisions and manage their risks. chain better, to helping organisations manage As CEO and co-founder Ami Daniel puts it: regulatory and security risks, to managing and “Ninety percent of the world’s trade is transreducing carbon emissions.”

Job Vacancy in Busy estate agency Position: Property administrator/lettings negotiator.

Office Location: Haringey Job requirements: - Dealing with universal credit claimants - Interview property applicants - Client communication The right candidate: - Experience working with Universal credit/DSS Claimants.

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Great remuneration for the right candidate with lots of growth potential.

Email: Propertyofficejob05@gmail.com

Windward began trading on AIM on 6 December after raising £35m from institutional investors

Windward sought admission to the stock market in an attempt to expand its profile after raising about £34.5 million ($45.7 million) before expenses from institutional investors such as Hargreave Hale. The money raised will fund further development and additional data sources, as well as helping to boost sales and marketing. The shares opened at 162.5p and ended the day at 170p.

Windward is not seen as a disruptor of the maritime industry but more of a digitilisation partner to help overcome the difficulties it faces and has been welcomed by the industry.

Daniel explains: “There are three major tailwinds for our business which are reflective of the challenges and opportunities in this industry. One, it is becoming more complicated to trade from a regulatory perspective – you are required to do lots more checking. Increasing regulations around sanctions compliance provide strong tailwinds for our offering.

“Two: decarbonisation. It’s clear that shipping needs to be decarbonised, it’s just not clear how. Shipping emits 3 percent of the world’s carbon emission but it is expected to grow to be 10 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, unless something is done. One way to reduce it is by going to new engines and new fuels but this will take a long time. The other way is via better commercial decisions – how can you move your cargo from A to B in the best way to reduce carbon emissions? And we believe you can do this by reducing carbon by 20 percent and this is part of our road map.

“Three: the supply chain woes. These are major issues which has never been at this level.

Container freight has never been more expensive and less reliable.”

Windward is planning to launch products next year to solve these problems.

Founded in 2010, Windward has grown dramatically, with revenues more than doubling from £4.4 million in 2017 to £11 million in 2020 [and by end of September 2021 recurring revenues had grown to £14.9 million on an annualised basis]. Customers include BP, Shell, HSBC and Danske Bank. It is headquartered

in Israel, with offices in the UK, United States, Denmark and the UAE. Lord Browne has chaired the company since 2019. He is chairman of BeyondNetZero, a climate growth equity venture established in partnership with General Atlantic, and cochairman of the Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology. He is also a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

❝

HAVING LORD BROWNE AS OUR CHAIRMAN GOES A LONG WAY FOR THE COMPANY AND FOR ME PERSONALLY. HE’S AWESOME AND WE ARE VERY PROUD TO HAVE HIM Daniel says: “Having Lord Browne as our chairman goes a long way for the company and for me personally – for a young CEO to work with this level of chairman is probably unprecedented in the London market.

“He’s awesome and we are very proud to have him. He is active and committed and involved in the company.”

Daniel, 37, has temporarily relocated from Israel to London. He says: “We had one day of celebrating [after the IPO] but now we are doubling down, we are only 1 percent done. We are thrilled to get this milestone, now let’s double and triple down and build a world leader.”  https://windward.ai/

23 December 2021 Jewish News

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31

Orthodox Judaism

SEDRA Vaera

What the Torah says about: Criminals being deported, leaving family behind

BY RABBI BORUCH M BOUDILOVSKY ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has not made me a slave’ (Daily Morning Blessings) This blessing, recited daily, is consistent with the intense and almost obsessive Jewish commitment to freedom. The Torah encourages the observance of Pesach, ‘the time of our freedom’, in terms unprecedented in almost all other biblical festivals.

When the process of freedom is described in this week’s Parsha in the context of God’s conversation with Moses, multiple words are used to illustrate the liberating experience: ‘I shall take you out’, ‘I shall rescue you’, ‘I shall redeem you’, ‘I shall take you to Me’, ‘I shall bring you to the land’ (Exodus 6: 6 – 8). Many of the biblical commandments are ‘in memory of the exodus from Egypt’.

We are commanded to remember the Exodus every day of our lives. Indeed, the Torah frowns on the Jewish slave who voluntarily enters slavery

Torah For Today

beyond the minimal term.

I believe that Judaism’s efforts in developing our awareness of freedom reminds us that freedom can easily be lost. Even when we live in free societies, a luxury that many still do not enjoy, our freedom is too often lost in abusive relationships, in uncompromising employment conditions, in addiction, in poverty, in mental health conditions and so on. Judaism is aware of how vulnerable freedom is and how it must therefore be appreciated, protected, and preserved.

Judaism also asserts that as free people we must become worthy of our freedom. Freedom in Judaism is not only an elementary human right, it is primarily a calling. Freedom obliges us to shape our lives with covenant, values, compassion, justice and truth.

I hope, trust, and pray that we will all be blessed with freedom and the wisdom to use it gracefully.

◆ Rabbi Boudilovsky is rabbi of Young Israel of North Netanya

BY RABBI ARIEL ABEL Under the Nationality and Borders Bill, foreign criminals will no longer be able to cite human rights to avoid being deported.

So, what does the Torah say about criminals being deported, leaving their family behind?

To deport anyone from the land in which they grew up is, in old-fashioned terms, to exile them. Saul pursued David as a suspect usurper and David complained: “For they have banished me from treading on the Lord’s inheritance.”

When sought by the authorities for the crime of fratricide, Prince Absalom fled to his grandfather, the king of Geshur.

Jacob was obliged to exile for more than two decades, for having appropriated Esau’s blessings and earned his hate. His return home was tense and frightening.

Moses was banished from his home for a similar period and parted from his family, which caused considerable grief for them. He did not believe that his brother would be happy to see him after all those years had passed. So much so, that God had to insist: “Go out to meet your brother Aaron, and when he sees you, he will be happy, inwardly.”

Moses foresaw that fraternal separation following banishment

dampens the outwardly expressed joy of reunion.

But God knows the innermost struggle of the self, and sees what we don’t.

Torah law insists that immigrants are treated with the same consideration and support as the native citizen, and that we should love them as ourselves. The foreigner is, however, bound by the Noahide laws, and infringement of those can prove fatal.

Thus, the right to acquire a new citizenship is not automatic, and relies upon a requirement to respect the law of the land in which you choose to live, and failure to do so may incur a permanent severance from one’s family by exile or deportation. ◆ Rabbi Ariel Abel CF works at Liverpool Legal, a law practice in Liverpool associated with E Rex Makin & Co Solicitors

Office Administrator and Marketing Coordinator The JNF UK Legacy Department offers a unique combination of wills advice and executorship services together with a high level of pastoral care to hundreds of clients throughout the UK. We are currently seeking a dynamic and motivated candidate to assist with office administration and the ongoing marketing to promote the services provided by the Legacy Department.

The successful candidate will have: - the ability to deliver projects keeping to timelines - initiative with good organisational capabilities - demonstrable administrative and marketing experience - good inter-personal skills and the ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team - excellent spoken and written English - knowledge of Israel Desirable: - sound knowledge of the structure of communal organisations, and a passion for supporting the work of a vital Israel orientated organisation.

- copy writing skills Submit your CV and covering letter to Carolyn Addleman Carolyn@kkl.org.uk with suitable by 10 January 2022

32

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Jewish News 23 December 2021

Progressive Judaism

Progressively Speaking

The Bible Says What?!

‘With more knowledge comes more sorrow’

How has Covid changed the way we mark lifecycle events?

BY RABBI DEBORAH BLAUSTEN

BY RABBI DR RENÉ PFERTZEL

We are 22 months into living through a breaking news event, with a daily barrage of case data, scientific studies and updates to guidelines and restrictions set by government. When the world around us feels so chaotic and confusing, the news cycle and its drip-feed of information seem to suggest that consuming more, reading more, absorbing more, watching more, paying constant attention to the numbers and the updates might give us back some of the control and security that the virus has taken away.

The author of Ecclesiastes writes of his desire to seek out all there is to know, and his frustration in discovering that even once he acquired all of the wisdom he sought, ‘a twisted thing cannot be made straight’; it didn’t give him the power he hoped it would. He then remarks that ‘to increase in knowledge is to increase in sorrow’.

What does he mean? Surely our tradition values learning above all?

Living through our current reality can, I think, help us see the value in this teaching. Staying informed is vital - it is how we learn how to keep ourselves and others safe.

The challenge of the ever-buzzing digital landscape is how to not get sucked into the spiral of so-called ‘doomscrolling’, where knowledge leads us to sorrow and despair.

It is difficult to look away from the torrent of information telling us about the world, but scrolling Facebook, Twitter, or the news can have a toxic impact on mental wellbeing without making any material difference to physical safety. When there is so much bad news around, it is important to create boundaries around our intake and to be mindful of when the things we hope might protect us start to do us harm.

◆ Deborah is rabbi at Finchley Reform Synagogue

Future generations will look back at our era and will split it into ‘preCovid’ and ‘post-Covid’.

The extent of changes that the pandemic has forced us into is still unknown, and only time will tell its magnitude.

As far as religious communities are concerned, a recent study led by Manchester Metropolitan University has tried to identify ‘British Ritual Innovation under Covid-19’. The lead investigator, Dr Joshua Edelman, is a member of Liberal Judaism’s Ark Synagogue. The project ran from August 2020 to September 2021 and focused mainly on religious practice, rather than theological issues, up and down the country. It covered the entire British religious spectrum and found that all faith communities faced similar challenges and responded in similar ways.

People preferred Zoom meetings to streamed services, because they felt more connection with

other people. Smaller communities did surprisingly better than bigger ones, because they offered what went missing during lockdowns – a sense of community and connectedness.

At the start of the series of lockdowns, there was a fear of ‘Hollywoodisation’ of services, but it did not happen. Congregants were drawn to smaller, more informal settings, where they would be acknowledged.

Two main challenges have emerged, however, from this new form of religious experience. Lifecycle events are very difficult to hold

online. Sadly, too many colleagues had to conduct funerals where they were the only person present, or where people had to join online because of a limit in numbers of attendees.

Being in a community is an important part of the grieving process, and this is missing when you are alone at home, watching your screen. Equally difficult is to feel the simcha of a bar/ batmitzvah. A young person and their family are carried by the love and energy of the community in the shul, and this is also missing online.

There is a fear, that appears to be unjustified, that people will happily stay online and not come back to synagogues.

But we have recently seen a reversed trend, and people are slowly coming back to our shuls, because they were missing being together and feeling the energy of the kahal. ◆ Rabbi Dr Pfertzel serves Kingston Liberal Synagogue

Assistant Lawyer

The JNF UK Legacy Department offers a unique combination of wills advice and executorship services together with a high level of pastoral care to 100s of clients throughout the UK. We pride ourselves on the ongoing engagement with our clients sharing with them the impact their legacies, through our parent charity JNF UK, have on the state of Israel.

We are seeking a solicitor or legal executive to join a team of wills, probate and estate administration lawyers.

You will be responsible for handling a varied caseload of matters, including the administration of estates and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Assisting the Director of Legacies, you will also having sole conduct of estate administration files dependent upon your level of experience.

The successful candidate will have excellent inter-personal skills and able to represent the department to the highest of standards. You should be self-driven and proactive.

We offer a competitive salary, commensurate with your experience.

Submit your CV and covering letter to Carolyn Addleman carolyn@kkl.org.uk by 10 January 2022.

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23 Decuember 2021 Jewish News

Ask our

33

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

Caring with compassion

Live-in Care Specialists

stay safe and independent in your own home 24 hrs a day-7 days a week * Preferred alternative to a nursing or care home

Our trusty team of advisers answers your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry.

This week: How to land your first proper job, requesting to continue working flexibly and effective inheritance planning LESLEY TRENNER CAREER ADVISER

RESOURCE

Dear Lesley I’m 21 and looking for my first proper job but I’m getting lots of conflicting advice.

What do employers really want?

Emily Hi Emily The good news is that there are currently lots of jobs out there although competition remains high. So how do you make a good impression if you’re just starting out?

• Any kind of employment experience is good – whether it’s a holiday job, childminding or voluntary work – as it shows initiative and a willingness to work.

• Good written and verbal communication skills are important.

EMMA GROSS EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION

SPENCER WEST LLP Dear Emma Since the pandemic began, my colleagues have all been working from home.

There has been an option to return to the office since September, but it wasn’t enforced. Now my employer has said that from January all staff are expected to return to the office. I’ve decided to put in a flexible working request for hybrid working, the majority

remotely. However, my manager has indicated that my employer is unlikely to agree to the request. Can they say no after all this time successfully working remotely?

Phoebe Dear Phoebe While all employees have a legal right to request flexible working as long as they’ve been employed for a minimum of 26 weeks (and this is expected to become a ‘day-one-right’ in 2022,) employers are not obliged to agree. However, employers must deal with all requests in a reasonable and timely manner, and can only reject them for a limited number of reasons such as: cost, inability to meet customer demand,

• IT skills such as Microsoft Office and digital conferencing are highly valued.

• Employers want employees who are punctual, reliable and well organised.

You can highlight these skills on your CV and demonstrate them in your application.

For example, use good, clear English in cover letters, check any written communication for grammar and spelling mistakes and avoid using a chatty text-message style. Be on time for interviews, be friendly and concise when talking to a potential employer, and have your technology ready and working efficiently if you are being interviewed online.

Resource helps clients of all ages, including school leavers, new graduates and others who are at the beginning of their careers. We know what employers want to see on a CV and we can help you identify your existing skills as well as build new ones. Crucially, we’ll give you the know-how, confidence and belief that you will find work early in 2022!

or impact on quality, performance, scheduling or staffing.

My advice is to put the request in and see what comes back. If they refuse the request, make sure they share their reasoning and their appeals procedure.

Your employer should be prepared to discuss its decision with you, and you are entitled to question any reasons it has offered. If its reasoning is not justified, you can refer to Acas or raise a grievance. However, bear in mind the time limit for bringing an employment tribunal claim.

ADAM SHELLEY ACCOUNTANT

SOBELL RHODES LLP Dear Adam I’m keen to understand further about the importance of taking charge of planning your estate. Are you able to provide any guidance?

Olivia Dear Olivia Inheritance tax is usually charged at 40 percent on the value of your estate (your property, money and posses-

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“Jewish News”

sions) over the £325,000 nil-rate band. There’s an additional allowance of up to £175,000 if you pass your family home to children or grandchildren.

If you’re married, you can effectively combine your thresholds and transfer assets between each other tax-free.

When one dies, the surviving spouse can inherit without any IHT liability, and you can utilise their unused thresholds on your death.

Writing a will is the most basic, but also one of the most neglected, forms of estate planning. For some, there’s a misconception that there’s no point in making a will if you’re married as your surviving spouse will get everything anyway. That’s not necessarily the case, particu-

larly if you have children and hold joint assets with other individuals.

Without a legally valid will, your estate could be distributed according to intestacy rules and a larger portion might be taxable.

Outside of having a legally valid will, one of the simplest ways to protect your estate can be to put assets into trusts. This can mean they fall outside of your estate when you die but there can be tax charges for gifts into trust.

Placing insurance policies into trust is a tax-efficient estate planning strategy.

Gifting assets over time is an option such as using your annual exemption to give away £3,000 in 2021/22 without them being added to the value of your estate.

34

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Ask Our Experts / Professional advice from our panel

Our Experts Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk Got a question for a member of our team?

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

Struggling to hear the TV? Missing out on family phone chats?

Hearing just not what it used to be?

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES CAROLYN ADDLEMAN Qualifications: Lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in will drafting and trust and estate administration. Last 14 years at KKL Executor and Trustee Company.

In close contact with clients to ensure all legal and pastoral needs are cared for.

Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

• • •

KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY 020 8732 6101 www.kkl.org.uk enquiries@kkl.org.uk

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION

TREVOR GEE Qualifications: • Managing Director, consultant specialists in affordable family health insurance.

• Advising on maximising cover, lower premiums, pre-existing conditions.

• Excellent knowledge of health insurers, cover levels and hospital lists.

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• Member of Chartered Insurance Institute.

EMMA GROSS Qualifications: • Specialist in claims of unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination.

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JEWELLER JONATHAN WILLIAMS Qualifications: • Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s.

• Expert in the manufacture and supply of diamond jewellery, wedding rings and general jewellery.

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COMMERCIAL LAWYER ADAM LOVATT Qualifications: • Lawyer with more than 11 years of experience working in the legal sector.

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Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

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ADAM SHELLEY Qualifications: • FCCA chartered certified accountant.

• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services.

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• Specialises in charities; Personal tax returns.

• Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award.

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SOBELL RHODES LLP 020 8429 8800 www.sobellrhodes.co.uk a.shelley@sobellrhodes.co.uk

THE KITCHEN CONSULTANCY 07738 067 671 www.thekitchenconsultancy.com shanti@thekitchenconsultancy.com

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST

IT SPECIALIST

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

LEE SHMUEL GOLDFARB Qualifications: • Hands-on service, with full and personalised support for international transfers.

• Get the most out of your currency exchange with regards to pension income, when purchasing your first house in Israel or benefitting from an inheritance from aboard.

• UK leader in financial exchange and partner to brands such as St James Place and Hargreaves Lansdown with industry-beating Trustpilot score.

IAN GREEN Qualifications: • Launched Man on a Bike IT consultancy 15 years ago to provide computer support for the home and small businesses.

• Clients range from legal firms in the City to families, small business owners and synagogues.

• More than 18 years’ experience.

LISA WIMBORNE Qualifications: Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including: • The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on site support.

• Knowledge of the innovations that empower people and the benefits available.

• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis.

CURRENCIES DIRECT 0786 0595 890 / 0207 847 9400 www.currenciesdirect.com/jn lee.goldfarb@currenciesdirect.com

MAN ON A BIKE 020 8731 6171 www.manonabike.co.uk mail@manonabike.co.uk

JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED 020 8371 6611 www.jbd.org Lisa@jbd.org

ISRAELI ACCOUNTANT

INSURANCE CONSULTANCY

LEON HARRIS Qualifications: • Leon is an Israeli and UK accountant based in Ramat Gan, Israel.

• He is a Partner at Harris Horoviz Consulting & Tax Ltd. • The firm specializes in Israeli and international tax advice, accounting and tax reporting for investors, Olim and businesses.

• Leon’s motto is: Our numbers speak your language!

ASHLEY PRAGER Qualifications: • Professional insurance and reinsurance broker. Offering PI/D&O cover, marine and aviation, property owners, ATE insurance, home and contents, fine art, HNW. • Specialist in insurance and reinsurance disputes, utilising Insurance backed products. (Including non insurance business disputes).

• Ensuring clients do not pay more than required.

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RISK RESOLUTIONS 020 3411 4050 www.risk-resolutions.com ashley.prager@risk-resolutions.com

ALIYAH ADVISER

If you would like to advertise your services here email: sales@ jewishnews.co.uk

CAREER ADVISER

DOV NEWMARK Qualifications: • Director of UK Aliyah for Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organisation that helps facilitate aliyah from the UK. • Conducts monthly seminars and personal aliyah meetings in London.

• An expert in working together with clients to help plan a successful aliyah.

LESLEY TRENNER Qualifications: • Provides free professional one-to-one advice at Resource to help unemployed into work.

• Offers mock interviews and workshops to maximise job prospects.

• Expert in corporate management holding director level marketing,

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RESOURCE 020 8346 4000 www.resource-centre.org office@resource-centre.org

Flights to Israel are becoming possible again!

DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR

TELECOMS SPECIALIST

VANESSA LLOYD PLATT Qualifications: • Qualification: 40 years experience as a matrimonial and divorce solicitor and mediator, specialising in all aspects of family matrimonial law, including: • Divorce, pre/post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, domestic violence, children’s cases, grandparents’ rights to see grandchildren, pet disputes, family disputes.

• Frequent broadcaster on national and International radio and television.

BENJAMIN ALBERT Qualifications: • Co-Founder and Technical Director of ADWConnect – a specialist in business telecommunications, serving customers worldwide.

• Independent consultant and supplier of Telephone & Internet services.

• Client satisfaction is at the heart of everything my team and I do, always striving to find the most cost-effective solutions.

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If you are making Aliyah or just need to ship some odds and ends, books etc. to Israel……..

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www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 23 December 2021

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23 December 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

37

Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

2

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8 9 10 13 15 16 19 21 22 23

6

8

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ACROSS 1 Make a small movement (5) 4 Frenzied (5)

Fill the grid with the numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains the numbers 1 to 9.

Month after September (7) Hindu mystic (4) Confidence trick (4) Lettuce (3) Tenant’s outlay (4) Donations to the poor (4) Breathe noisily because of a cold (7) Employ for some purpose (3) Proprietor (5) Agricultural produce (5)

7 9

7 Container for letter of reply (inits)(3)

U C N E C D H F A O U O

I

I

J C J

S S

23

L

L N W F E X R P V N E

T

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R Y O T F N P A S S R C

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I W E S

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L

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Q L N R G S P I

3

B O

M L K B W I

14

E

CURRANTS EATING FARM FIELDS FRUIT

PICKING PRICE PUNNETS SCALES STALL

Last issue’s solutions Crossword ACROSS: 1 Chatty 4 Mesh 8 Gas 9 Playful 10 Round 11 Suave 13 Hitch 15 Miser 17 Pioneer 19 Nub 20 Obey 21 Elicit DOWN: 1 Cigar 2 Assault 3 Tepid 5 Elf 6 Halve 7 Ways 12 Arsenic 13 Hippo 14 Heed 15 Moral 16 Robot 18 Ore

8

SUMMER THORNS WEIGHT

7 1 3 8 4 6 5 2 9

2 9 8 1 3 5 7 6 4

3 2 5 4 1 7 8 9 6

7

25

8

23

23

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3

20

15

25

12

22

20

15

4

13

23

9 1

8

8

2

7

C

7

3

15

R

3

Each cell in an outlined block must contain a digit: a two-cell block contains the digits 1 and 2, a three-cell block contains the digits 1, 2 and 3; and so on. The same digit must not appear in neighbouring cells, not even diagonally.

20

23

13

14

13

19

22

23

23

10

9

14

25

20

9

10 26

25

14

10

15

8 6 1 9 2 3 4 5 7

3 2

15

9 7

25

1

3

4 26

14

23 11

17

6

3

22 24

3

21

3

3

3

25

1

2

14

15

R

3

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6

7

8

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C

5 7 9 2 6 4 3 1 8

6 3 4 5 8 1 9 7 2

1 8 2 3 7 9 6 4 5

1 3 4 3 1 2

4 2 1 2 4 3

1 5 3 5 1 5

4 3 2 5

15

4

14

15

2

14

4

9

10

14

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

9

10

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All puzzles © Puzzler Media Ltd - www.puzzler.com

A

Wordsearch 2 4 1 2 4 3

5 3 5 3 5 1

1 4 2 1 2 4

2 3 1 4 2 3

1 5 2 5 1 5

2 4 1 3 4 3

1 3 2 5 1 2

2 5 1 4 3 5

4

3

Suguru 9 4 7 6 5 8 2 3 1

3

1

4 2 3

15

18

7

3

3

4

5

13

15

9

15

A

2 5

SUGURU

16

22 13

1

14

17

4

3

1 8 6

3

3

14

5

3

4

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Sudoku 4 5 6 7 9 2 1 8 3

26

3

A T S P G S R V D X Z

BASKETS BERRIES BUSHES COST COUNTRY

25

7

S T A C B U S H E S W I

9

3

3

L P

E M H D Z

F C U H Y K A N P G

23

8

S T E K S A B E N G S E R M R Q K N G T U B S T

20

22

Y O U C O T U

S U M M E R R R R C E F

11

9

6

In this finished crossword, every letter of the alphabet appears as a code number. All you have to do is crack the code and fill in the grid. Replacing the decoded numbers with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

X T

6 6 2 1

The words related to fruit picking can all be found in the grid. Words may run either forwards or backwards, in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

J

3 9 5

7

5

CODEWORD

G S E H T Z V N B

1 5 1 4

WORDSEARCH I

6 2

4

DOWN 1 Fully occupied (4) 2 Abate (3,4) 3 Foreign-looking, glamorous (6) 4 Fluttering insect (4) 5 Fountain pen part (3) 6 Metal plating (6) 11 Share your thoughts (7) 12 Very quick, musically (6) 14 Shelter (6) 17 (From) a distance (4) 18 Exploit (4) 20 Tall vase (3)

16 17

SUDOKU

1 4 3 2 1 4

H E R L G L F J U C M X H

S E N N I H C R U A E S T

I B R A O Y S T E R P U N

F Z N M O D T M S O R Q W

Y S C H I L X E A T T L A

A L L A E T L T L L J O R

R W E F E C C E D W C B P

Codeword C A I S A T O R T O I S E

S S S N S Q Z R A C Q T W

H G R V K U Y A M B I E T

B A B N I L M P U S K R R

B N K D Y Y E I J F V Z E

P O L L A C S N P C X M J

F U T R U NWA Y E D I S P E L L B C R O OP POR T I E BUN D E R A S H E X Z U M E A RW I G N L T

M S J E RK E L N I I N D T E Q UN E PO E X R F I C I E N I L V E CU T I V D D O D E DUC D S

A D V E R T T R E A T Y

V MG O D C A T QWX E J 23/12 F K Y S P H Z NB L R U I

38

Jewish News 23 December 2021

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Business Services Directory ANTIQUES 44

The Jewish News 22 September 2016

Stirling BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTORY Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture Top prices paid (any condition)

WE BUY ANTIQUES VERY HIGH PRICES PAID. FREE HOME VISITS. All Antique Furniture Hille & Epstein Diamond Jewellery, Gold, Silver, Paintings, Porcelain, Glass, Bronzes, Ivories, Oriental & Judaica Antiques etc.

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www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON: 0800 840 2035 or 07956268290 OPEN 8am TO 9pm 7 DAYS. PORTOBELLO RD LONDON.

Hille, G Plan, etc.

CarerEpstein, Archie Shine,Clothing

Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc.

Carer FURS WANTED Auxiliary Nurse Cash paid for Mink House clearances Available to support

jackets, coats, you in your home. boleros, stoles, Single items to complete homes also fox coats, Days/nights. jackets etc.

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23 December 2021 Jewish News

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