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Our worst fears

Benjamin Netanyahu’s triumph was really a victory for his allies.

For the sixth time, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has led his party to the top of the polls and appeared set – as Jewish News went to press – to return to the job.

But Likud barely improved its vote share in this election. The true winner was the far-right and its leaders, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir (pictured above).

Across Israel, nearly half-a-million people voted for the Religious Zionist bloc and sent more than a dozen of its members into the Knesset.

Never in the Jewish state’s history has hatred wielded such power.

To be clear: this newspaper’s concern is not that Netanyahu himself is on the cusp

of a dramatic return.

Yes, many British Jews oppose him – for his West Bank annexation plan, say, or the fraud and corruption allegations he faces – but many others support him in this country as a strong, conservative voice.

and corruption allega-

Few members of our community agree with Ben-Gvir or Smotrich –and the fact is the political marriage between these

community agree with

two men was made by Netanyahu. He did it to maximise his electoral chances but may have unleashed a beast he cannot control. Religious Zionism has attracted a diverse voter base: it includes young Charedim who have had enough of their rabbis instructing them on who to vote for and West Bank settlers driven to despair over security. It also includes extremists who have shown they are quite prepared to take the law into their own hands.

Netanyahu is back, but now it’s the iron fist of Israel’s far right empowering him. It confi

No 10: Israel still important as our partner

Israel will remain an “important international partner” regardless of the latest elections results, a Downing Street spokesperson insisted last night, writes Lee Harpin.

Questioned about the likely appearance of politicians previously expressing racist and homophobic views, the No 10 spokesperson said it would be “inappropriate to comment” with both the election results and the make-up of the new government were being formed.

But Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson added: “Israel remains an important international partner.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said that while “disagreements” might emerge over “rhetoric from individual politicians”, this would not alter his belief in a “strong relationship between Britain and Israel”.

Starmer’s spokesperson was also questioned by Jewish News about his response to the new Israeli government, with its likely inclusion of ministers form far-right parties.

The spokesperson said: “Let’s wait and see what happens in terms of whether the government is formed as the exit polls are predicting.

“If the exit polls are correct, it does look like Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is going back into government – we will have to wait and see.”

Bibi’s back, propped up

By Jotam Confino, foreign editor, in Israel jotam@jewishnews.co.uk @mrconfino

Benjamin Netanyahu is all but certain to become the next Israeli prime minister after receiving a majority of the votes in Tuesday’s elections.

As of Wednesday evening, 97 percent of the votes had been counted, giving Netanyahu’s bloc 65 of the 120 Knesset seats, enough to form a coalition.

Netanyahu will replace Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who failed to gather enough support in his bloc to form a government.

The 73-year-old Likud leader’s government will consist of his own party, the two strictly orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as the far-right Religious Zionism party, which became the third largest in parliament with 15 seats.

The leader of Religious Zionism, the self-declared proud homophobe Betzalel Smotrich, said the party “is making his-

tory”, while controversial Itamar Ben-Gvir promised to “work for all of Israel, even those who hate me”.f

Religious Zionism has campaigned on a number of issues such as expanding and annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including the Jewish outposts currently considered illegal under Israeli and international law, legal reforms that would directly impact Netanyahu’s corruption trial, and immunity for Israeli soldiers and police o cers.

Ben-Gvir, who is known for his racist comments aimed at Arab-Israelis and Palestinians, has requested the public security minister portfolio, which would give him oversight and significant influence over the police force in Israel.

Netanyahu’s government structure is still unclear, but when asked about Ben-Gvir’s demand the day before elections, the Likud leader did not dismiss the option.

As for the strictly Orthodox parties, their core interests

will be make sure the draft status quo stays in place, which exempts religious men and women from joining the army, and making sure yeshivas will continue to get financial support with little or no oversight over teaching core studies, such as mathematics and English.

The progress Labor was trying to make on changing the rules for public transportation on Shabbat is also expected to come to a halt.

Lawmaker from the strictlyOrthodox United Torah Judaism Yitzhak Pindrus, who will be part of Netanyahu’s government, took the opportunity to lash out at the outgoing government, saying “We’re civilised people, not animals like you.”

“In the government you stole… you trampled on us. You thought we were just rags. We’re human beings,” Pindrus said.

Netanyahu’s rival, defence minister Benny Gantz, pledged that his National Unity party would “accept the voters’ decisions” and serve as a responsible opposition party.

As of yesterday afternoon,

RESULT REFLECTS A WIDER MOVE TOWARDS POPULISM

BY RICHARD PATER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BICOM, BASED IN JERUSALEM

If the results are as projected at the time of writing, Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc will have won a substantial and significant victory.

Various factors aligned to bring us to this point. In the lead-up to the elections, Netanyahu worked diligently behind the scenes to enforce a technical bloc between Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power faction and Bezalel Smotrich’s National Union, adding the homophobic Noam Party for good measure, united, they ran as the Religious Zionist Party ensuring that no hard-right wing votes were lost.

Similarly, Netanyahu ensured that the two factions that make up the strictly Orthodox Ashkenazi Party United Torah Judaism –Degel Hatorah and Achdut Hatorah – remain united despite animosity and internal rivalry. On the other side of the spectrum, Lapid failed to convince Labour and Meretz, or the rival Arab parties, to combine forces.

The result appears to be six seats’ worth of left-wing votes failing to pass the threshold.

The success of the Religious Zionist Party is particularly striking. Never has the hard right had such electoral success and, as this paper asked last week; where’s the outrage?

Their success is attributable to a combination of factors. In part it is reflective of

wider global trend in populism, similar to US support for Trump or the French for Le Pen, or Meloni in Italy.

In Israel, Ben Gvir was cultivated as a contrary, charismatic and provocative media celebrity, his infamy striking a chord particularly among first-time voters; both secular and religious.

He successfully tapped in and exploited Israelis fears over personal security, exacerbated by recent terror attacks.

Now it is incumbent on Netanyahu (assuming that the victory is confirmed) to build his coalitio; as of last week he outlined that his approach will be first to lock in his natural allies and only then look to broaden his coalition with centrist parties.

Netanyahu said he intends to keep the three most important portfolios (finance, defence and foreign) inside the Likud, meaning other senior roles, including justice and public security (which oversees the police) could be available for his right-wing partners.

However, there is likely to be an effort, led by President Herzog, to encourage the emergence of a unity government. In his speech on Tuesday night, Benny Gantz, the leader of the National Unity Party, did not explicitly rule out sitting with Netanyahu.

Instead, he repeated his party’s mantra that they will put the country’s need above everything else. Perhaps Gantz could be persuaded to join a Netanyahu government if doing so would dilute the influence of the hardline Religious Zionist Party.

This newspaper’s online tracker of Tuesday’s Israeli election

Lapid was yet to issue an official concession, but according to Israeli media, the prime minister was pre paring for an “orderly transi tion” of power to Netanyahu.

The left-wing Meretz Party, headed by Zehava GalOn, failed to cross the elec toral threshold and will find itself outside the Knesset for the first time in its history.

The party had worked hard to convince the Labour party to run on a joint ticket, to prevent any of them receiving less votes than required to enter parlia ment. Labor leader Merav Michaeli, however, refused.

Meretz’s ‘gevalt’ cam paign didn’t persuade voters to stay loyal to the party instead of voting for Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.

Labor, which received the minimum four seats a party can have in parliament, was attacked by Meretz law maker Esawi Frej following the election, accusing her of “delusions of grandeur” and comparing herself to the

late Labor prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

A senior Labour official told Ynet News that that Michaeli was a “colossal failure, and discon nected from reality”, while expecting her to draw the “obvious conclusions”.

Following the disap pointing election results both Meretz and Labour cancelled their planned speeches to their voters and volunteers.

Meanwhile, the ArabIsraeli Balad party also failed to cross the 3,25 percent electoral threshold.

Arab-Israeli parties Hadash and Ta’al received five seats, with a senior source party telling Jewish News that the development was troubling, but that it would continue to fight racism and fascism coming on the far-right.

British communal bodies stay shtum

The main UK communal bodies have avoided issuing comment on the Israeli election ahead of the final results and ministerial positions being confirmed, writes Lee Harpin

The Board of Deputies and Jewish Lead ership Council both declined to issue state ments yesterday as votes continued to be counted in the election, which left former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the brink of a dramatic comeback in a coalition with the far-right.

It is understood communal groups are awaiting further clarification on roles given that the Religious Zionist leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in any coa lition government before determining the strength of their response.

The will also await the response to Isra el’s new government from leading American communal organisations.

But peace group Yachad was quick to con demn the prospect of Netanyahu forming a government with the Religious Zionist party, who it said “peddle hatred of Palestinians, LGBTQ people and more”.

Yachad tweeted: “If our Jewish communal bodies are truly committed to anti-racism and inclusivity, they must speak now. Their silence will be loud and clear.”

Yachad’s director, Hannah Weisfeld, said: “The Religious Zionist Party stands for Kahanism, Jewish Supremacy, segrega tion, anti- Palestinian racism as well as antiLGBTQ rights and an opposition to reform and liberal Judaism. The list goes on.

“Our Jewish community has strong ties to Israel and a long history of engaging with the Jewish state in many ways. But this is no longer business as usual, and this is a crisis for British Jews. “

Israel decides / News

YOUR LEGACY

Protecting and securing the Jewish community in the UK against antisemitism is what we do. From the streets of London in the 1950s through to the hate-filled internet chatrooms of today, CST will leave no stone unturned in the fight against those who wish to do us harm. This is not something that we can do without your ongoing and long-term support.

A legacy to CST will ensure that our community is not only protected against the continuous threat of antisemitism but is also given the security necessary to flourish in the future. Contact us on 020 8457 3700 or email legacy@cst.org.uk.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara address supporters following the exit poll on Tuesday evening by the far right

Bezalel Smotrich voting on Tuesday

Halfon role

Sanctioned peer vows to keep pressure on Tehran

Conservative peer Lord Stuart Polak has vowed to continue to “speak out” against the Iranian regime, telling Lords it was “indeed an honour” to be placed on Tehran’s latest sanctions list, writes Lee Harpin.

The Conservative Friends of Israel’s honorary president is among nine individuals in the UK to be told they had been blacklisted by Iran.

Speaking in a debate on the on-going protests taking place in the hard-line Islamic Republic, Lord Polak said: “What an honour: banned from a country that attacks its own people, beating women and children because they dare to protest against backwards and oppres-

HALFON HANDED EDUCATION BRIEF BY PM

sive laws. “This is a country where peaceful protesters are dragged and beaten to death; a country that shuts down its own internet so the rest of the world cannot bear witness to the murderous brutality of the IRGC, while providing weapons and training to support Putin’s criminal acts in Ukraine.

“To be banned from such a country for standing up against its leadership, terrorist actions and treatment of its own people is indeed an honour.

“I will continue to speak out against the Iranian regime and specifically its terrorist arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Corps, for their inhumane activity on the ground in Iran and their acts of terror internationally.”

Speaking after Polak, Lord Turnberg urged the government to act and proscribe “the horrific Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

He added: “Now is the time for our new Conservative leadership to show some resolve. ”

The debate had been brought to the Lords by the Bishop of St Albans to raise the “plight of many people in Iran, especially young women, who are fighting for their basic human rights and, as a consequence, su ering horrific violence at the hands of the state.”

Jewish MP Robert Halfon has been confirmed as an education minister in Rishi Sunak’s new government.

The Harlow MP, who has chaired the education select committee, said he was “looking forward to working with colleagues to deliver the prime minister’s exciting education & skills agenda

to ensure every student can climb the educational ladder of opportunity, after confirming his appointment.

Former skills minister Gillian Keegan was on Wednesday confirmed as the new education secretary, replacing Kit Malthouse, who was appointed by ex-PM Liz truss.

Conservative Friends of Israel supporter Halfon now joins the department along with ex-schools minister Nick Gibb. He has previously said: “I am a proud Jewish MP. My faith influences me because Jewish tradition is focused around education, work ethic, compassion and support for the state of Israel.”

Protesters against the Iranian regime outside Downing Street last week

MP Robert Halfon

slur pains

says Muswell Hill rabbi

A senior UK rabbi has joined Jewish lawyers and politicians in con demning “invasion” claims made by the home secretary during a debate about people crossing the Channel in small boats, writes Lee Harpin.

Suella Braverman was under pressure to explain data security breaches, as well as allegations of appalling conditions at a migrant centre, when she appeared in the Commons on Monday.

But in trying to defend her record, the home secretary claimed her policies were in place to deal with the boats bringing people to the UK, which she suggested was an “invasion on the south coast”.

Muswell Hill synagogue’s Rabbi David Mason told Jewish News her

remarks “made me feel pained as a Jew and as a human”.

During her appearance in the Commons, Braverman denied she had blocked the use of hotels by those seeking asylum, and then tried to blame the last Labour gov ernment for a “broken” system. She claimed illegal migration was “out of control” and that she was the victim of a “witch-hunt” over calls for her to resign from her post.

Braverman claimed that she was speaking on behalf of the “patriotic majority of British people from every background that want safe and secure borders”.

Other Tory MPs on the right of the party used her comments to make further attacks on those

trying to reach the UK, with Ipswich MP Tom Hunt saying: “Send them back”. Stoke on Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis appeared later to name a hotel housing migrants in a TV interview.

In response Rabbi Mason said: “Hearing the comments last night of the home secretary made me feel pained as a Jew and as a human.

“Compassion and loving-kind ness are fundamental values of our religion. Using the terminology of ‘invasion’ to generalise about those seeking safety and a better life in the United Kingdom and allowing atrocious conditions for asylum seekers could not be further from those values.”

Leading barrister Adam Wagner

described Braverman’s remarks as “properly Ukip/Trump-style”.

The human rights expert tweeted: “Her statements on the fire-bombing of the immigration centre were the most instructive: she didn’t mention the migrants.”

He was referring to the attack on a facility in Dover at the weekend. Manston is at the centre of an over crowding scandal after Braverman was reported to have ignored advice that people were being detained there for unlawfully long periods. Braverman had tweeted: “My thoughts are with those affected, the tireless Home Office staff and police responding. We must now support those officers as they carry out their investigation.”

GP CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

A Jewish GP who runs a large practice catering for Salford’s ultra-Orthodox community has been charged with two counts of sexual assault against one woman and sexual assault and inde cent assault of another.

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that, following the charges, Dr Wayne Davis has been released on bail and will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 29 November.

Migdal Emunah – a charity which supports victims of sexual abuse and violence – praised the work done by both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service on the case. Erica Marks, the charity’s chief executive, urged victims of

sex crimes to come forward in the future, saying: “The Jewish community is not immune from this type of crime and it is important we con tinue to have these conversations and develop processes to keep our children and adults safe.”

Suella Braverman spoke in the Commons this week of an ‘invasion on the south coast’

Report: Jewish families struggle to cover basics

Two-thirds of British Jews fear they don’t earn enough to cover basic household bills, according to a shocking survey published today that brings the cost of living crisis in the community into sharp focus, writes Michael Daventry.

It finds 40 percent of people are worried their families would suffer because of the need to make severe cutbacks on their expenses.

The situation is even more critical for those receiving benefits with eight-in-10 taking part in the survey saying they may not be able to make ends meet. One respondent said: “My biggest fear is not being able to afford to eat properly. I am having to ration how much I eat now and sometimes I have to go for days without essentials.” Another added: “I am so worried we won’t be able to pay our bills this winter. I just don’t know how we will be able to heat our home, let alone provide a good quality of life for our children.”

The findings are released today by employ ment support charity Work Avenue, which has found 85 percent of its clients are under finan cial pressure because of the crisis.

Emma May, the organisation’s director of operations, said the results show the Jewish community is “suffering”. She added: “As we’ve seen nationally, costs are rising everywhere and wages and benefits aren’t keeping pace.”

“These worries are very real and very imme diate. The cost of living is spiralling and, as our survey has shown, people in our community are now having to make impossible decisions about their mortgage repayments or rent, household bills and even the essentials of life such as food and clothing.”

The survey also finds more than 60 per cent of people are considering changing jobs, looking to find a second income or are asking for a salary increase to cope with the crisis –while four in 10 feel their mental health been has been negatively impacted.

Work Avenue says it wants to raise £750,000 through an online crowdfunder on 13-14 November to help members of the Jewish com munity through the crisis.

May said: “The need for our services has never been greater. Every day, we are

helping people to increase their livelihood, by upskilling to earn more and/or gaining addi tional skills to earn a second income – through free workshops, courses and confidential oneto-one support.

“Our crowdfunder is both essential and timely, and will allow us to grow and expand our services so that we can help even more people to earn a living to support themselves and their families with dignity.”

 More details will be available on the website at theworkavenue.org.uk

US LAUNCHES ‘ENERGY FUND’ CASH GRANTS

The United Synagogue is launching an unprecedented “energy fund” to help those of its members who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. The scheme — in the form of cash grants — is to be funded by asking US members who do not need the government’s £400 discount, being applied to all energy bills, to donate that £400 to a family in need

The US is acutely aware that rising energy costs mean that many Jewish families cannot make ends meet. The energy fund initiative has been devised by the charity’s Chesed department, which believes that there are hundreds of fami lies in need of such direct help.

For more than two-and-a-half years, he charity has already been providing food parcels and household items to families in need, and has long provided bursaries for its Tribe-led camps and Israel tour.

Michelle Minsky, who heads the Chesed department of the US, said: “We’ve never given money out directly before, but these are extraordinary times, with more families in need than ever. If you feel you do not need the £400 that the government is giving to all households this winter, please consider it donating it to a family who is in real difficulty. It’s very simple to donate your discount, just go to theus.org.uk/ener gyfund or call 020 8343 6260.”

The same website and phone number are available to people seeking help, with all information held in strictest confi dence.

 All applications must be received by 1 December

Two girls badly injured in Stamford Hill bus collision

Two 14-year-old girls are in hospital after being seriously injured by a bus on Monday in Stamford Hill.

The incident, in which the bus col lided with a traffic pole, took place on Amhurst Park at 5:02pm, the Metropol itan Police said.

The girls were treated at the scene by the Hatzola emergency service. One

of the victims is understood to have life-threatening injuries, according to the police, who also said the bus driver stopped at the scene and there have been no arrests.

Hackney mayor Philip Glanville tweeted: “Awful to hear about this acci dent in Stamford Hill, first thoughts with those injured in the accident and

all those from the community and emergency services who went to help them.”

The newspaper Hamodia said the bus mounted the pavement and hit a traffic pole. One girl was hit by the bus, and the other by the pole.

The victims are believed to be cousins.

‘People are making impossible decisions about essentials such as food’, the report shows

2022

Tsitsit, the Jewish Fringe,is back, with a London mini festival in November 2022. From cantatas to klezmer, Ladino love songs to Jewish cabaret,Yiddish theatre to Israeli jazz, Tsitsit London 2022 has something to offer all tastes. Full details at www.tsitsitfringe.org

THURSDAY 3RD NOVEMBER

• ‘If it’s Jewish enough for you’ | a cabaret night of music and comedy with a Jewish flavour | Arts Depot Finchley 8.00pm

SUNDAY 6TH NOVEMBER

• The Ismena Quartet and Rebecca Lea present an evening of Brahms , plus the world premiere of Jeffrey Joseph’s Five Yehudah Amichai songs | Burgh House Hampstead 7.30 pm

SUNDAY 13TH NOVEMBER

• Scots and Yiddish music with a new film cantata and world premiere by Alastair Smith | with mezzo soprano Clara Kanter and pianist Ben Smith | Burgh House Hampstead 7.00pm

• Velkom to Inklandt | a heartfelt and hilarious onewoman play adapted from Sophie Herxheimer’s Sunday Times Poetry Book of the Year | JW3 2.00pm and 7.30pm

• Buenos Klezmer! | uplifting and heart-warming Jewish folk music of the Eastern European shtetl and Sephardic world | Green Note Camden 8.30pm

full details

MONDAY 14TH NOVEMBER

• Jews in Jazz | The Kramer Durcan Duo & Friends explore the world of Jewish composers’ contributions to the Great American Songbook | Piano Smithfield 8.00pm This event is also part of the EFG London Jazz Festival

WEDNESDAY 16TH NOVEMBER

• Noga Ritter sings songs from her new album Ima | original Hebrew Jazz with grooves from around the world | Piano Smithfield 8.00pm This event is also part of the EFG London Jazz Festival

THURSDAY 17TH NOVEMBER

• Secrets of the London Yiddish Stage | with Vivi Lachs and David Schneider – music by Katsha’nes | Jewish Museum Camden 7.30 pm This event is part of the Being Human festival

buy tickets

SUNDAY 20TH NOVEMBER

• Monica Acosta - Sephardic Songs | beautiful and moving Ladino songs of love and life | Lauderdale House Highgate 7.00pm

• Mum Thumb | a deeply moving play about one woman’s relationship with her ageing mother | Finchley Reform Synagogue 7.30pm

Noga Ritter

Clara Kanter

Ismena Quartet

Kramer Durcan Duo & Friends

Monica Acosta

Buenos Klezmer

Nazi-Jewish Romeo and Juliet cancelled

London’s Icarus Theatre Collective has pulled its production of Romeo and Juliet “with immediate e ect” and cut ties with its casting director after a row broke out over both the casting and the setting of the play in the Nazi era, writes Jenni Frazer.

The company’s artistic director, Max Lewendel, whose father was a ‘hidden child’ during the Holocaust and whose grandmother was murdered by the Nazis, said Icarus, an award-winning company, “apologised and are deeply sorry for the o ence and pain we caused to the Jewish community”.

The company “recognise that we’ve made mistakes that have resulted in the Jewish community and Jewish artists feeling excluded and being hurt”, he said.

Icarus’ production was to have a Jewish Juliet, a member of the Capulet family, who falls in love with a member of the Nazi Youth, Romeo from the Montague clan. When a casting call was made on social media there was no mention of the idea of Jewish actors taking roles.

Additional outrage was expressed at the idea that Jewish Capulets and Nazi Montagues appeared to be on equal footing, despite an insistence by Icarus that, contrary to Shakespeare’s opening lines –“These are not two households both alike in dignity” – the play was being radically edited to show a lack of bal-

ance between the two families and to ramp up the disparity until one family destroyed the other.

One critic called it “‘a deeply misguided project”, adding: “Romeo and Juliet as the story of impossible love in the Holocaust? Using the Holocaust as framing for ‘the most hopeful of love stories’ dismisses every single bit of history of systematic murder and inhumanity”.

Icarus said it had consulted about the idea with members of the Jewish community, but that they were individuals rather than organisations. Lewendel said engagement with organisations had been “in process” before the decision was taken to cancel the play.

He added: “Our intention was to cast Jewish actors and actresses. We were shocked to discover our casting director (who we are no longer working with) had removed this key information from our casting breakdown. However, we failed to notice this error before copying it to our website and posting on socials... Importantly, we believed that we were moving forward in a way that included the Jewish community with a drastic adaptation of the text.”

Lewendal repeated his apology, saying: “We got this wrong and made Jewish artists feel excluded. We wish to acknowledge the importance of the Jewish community response.”

JEW IN ROW ON JEWFACE

A Jewish Hollywood director says he takes “huge o ence” at criticism of the casting of actors, including Anthony Hopkins, to play members of a Jewish family in his new film.

Armageddon Time features Hopkins playing Aaron Rabinowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine, a Holocaust survivor and grandfather to the film’s protagonist, Paul Gra , played by Banks Repeta.

The new film also has other Jewish characters played by non-Jewish actors.

There has been criticism of several recent films and TV series, including The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and The Shrink Next Door, for casting non-Jewish actors as Jews in a phenomenon some have named ‘Jewface’.

Armageddon Time director James Gray said: “I reserve the right to cast someone like Hopkins.

“Does someone watch The Godfather and complain Marlon Brando is from

Omaha, Nebraska, and is not an Italian New York guy?”

In an interview with the New York Times, Gray was told that Hopkins “doesn’t jump out as Jewish”. He replied: I take huge o ence to that as well. I’m Jewish, I reserve the right to cast someone like Anthony Hopkins.”

Gray added: “At some point, we have to acknowledge that our whole function as artists is to try and step into the consciousness of someone else and find compassion and find something of emotional power in doing that.”

Icarus’ branding for its version of Shakespeare’s play

Anthony Hopkins is to star

NUS verdict

News

NUS president is sacked in antisemitism scandal

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

The president of the National Union of Students, Shaima Dallali, has been dismissed following an independent investigation into antisemitism claims against her and the student body.

Jewish News has learned that an NUS disciplinary panel has concluded that she should be removed from post after reviewing the recommendations of barrister Rebecca Tuck KC’s report into the scandal.

Dallali – who once shared a tweet which included an Islamic battle cry historically used when attacking Jews – was suspended as the NUS president in September to allow the barrister to complete her inquiry.

The 27-year-old student leader is said to have “strenuously denied” claims of antisemitism made against her, insisting that she had apologised for errors of judgment made on social media when she was younger.

But sources told Jewish News that the KC’s report backed claims Dallali’s conduct in allegations involving claims of antisemitism went “way beyond just standing up for Palestinian rights”.

She has repeatedly expressed support for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and claimed he should “never have been suspended in the first place” from the party.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) had submitted a dossier to the inquiry detailing allegations of misconduct both by Dallali and within the NUS over many years.

In a statement released following the president’s dismissal, UJS said it “respects the decision of the NUS to dismiss their president”.

It added: ”Antisemitism in the student movement goes beyond the actions of any one individual and this case is a symptom of wider problem. Jewish students across the country will be asking how an individual deemed unfit for o ce by NUS was elected in the first place. We await the findings of the substantive inquiry into NUS’s treatment of Jewish students.”

In a May 2021 post, Dallali wrote that “UJS and their likes need to be called out”, claiming the Jewish student body “have a history of bullying pro-Palestinian activists”. Other posts by her handed to the

inquiry included statements in support of the Islamist group Hamas from May 2021, with the claim, “Resistance with weapons is a right.”

A critic of Hamas was subsequently branded a “dirty Zionist” by Dallali, before she began her two year stint as NUS president in July.

Tuck’s report is believed to have concluded that beside a series of historic social media postings, the president continued to hold views that could impact on her dealings with Jewish students. A source added:

“There was broad agreement that as a result of the recommendations made in Rebecca Tuck’s report, that the only suitable course of action to take was to end Shaima Dallali’s tenure as president.”

It is believed to be the first time in the 100-year history of the NUS that a president has been dismissed over claims of gross misconduct.

failure on the issue.

The Department for Education cited “allegations of antisemitism, which have been well-documented and span several years” for the move.

Previous president Larissa Kennedy had herself faced calls to quit her two-year term early over her suggestion that Jewish students could segregate themselves to avoid watching conspiracist rapper Lowkey at an NUS 100th anniversary concert. Both the government and Labour leader Keir Starmer’s o ce have been now been informed on the outcome of the NUS investigation.

Jewish News had revealed earlier this year that in a 2012 tweet Dallali had shared an Islamic battle cry historically used when attacking Jews. She wrote: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return #Gaza.” She later apologised, saying she is “a di erent person”.

She also labelled a cleric critical of the Palestinian group Hamas a “dirty Zionist” and posted a video of anti-Israel protesters calling for an intifada. Dallali had also led a campaign at City University, where she was previously student president. to oppose the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism.

In 2018, Dallali wrote a controversial article in which she praised the Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

Sources said the respected KC has also outlined an urgent action plan intended to help restore healthy relations between Jewish students and the NUS moving forwards.

A vetting process will also be put in place to try to ensure the issues around antisemitism with the student body do not emerge again.

The NUS had in May revealed the setting up of an independent inquiry into allegations of antisemitism, after the government announced it was cutting ties with the student body over concerns about its

Al-Qaradawi has previously claimed the Holocaust was “divine punishment” for Jews, and claimed that “they exaggerated this issue”.

Dallali recently tweeted her approval of a series screened by the Qatari-owned channel Al Jazeera which aired unsubstantiated claims of a hierarchy of racism in Labour, with antisemitism given preference.

Earlier this month, in a tweet, she claimed: “All the Arab dictators are laughing at British democracy.”

Jewish News understands that Dallali was also prevented from attending the recent Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool.

The UJS had encouraged past and present students to submit accounts of anti-Jewish racism they had faced on campus for use in the probe.

A UJS spokeswoman had previously said: “Jewish students have raised their concerns over much of the messaging Dallali has put out on her social media in the past – attacking the Jewish community, attacking UJS, and supporting speakers with extremely challenging views.”

During her probe, Tuck, who specialises in employment and discrimination, is understood to have quizzed Dallali over her conduct.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis) issued a

threatening to launch a disa liation campaign against the NUS after the suspension of Dallali.

News has contacted NUS for comment.

comment,

recent National Union of Students annual conference

success of ethnic groups, Javid tells Asian-Jewish gathering

Former Chancellor Sajid Javid has reflected on his first visit to Israel with his children, saying booking the trip was one of the first things he did after leaving gov ernment, writes Candice Krieger.

The Bromsgrove MP, who also served as Home and Communities Secretary, was speaking at the flagship annual event of the Asian-Jewish Business Network at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

Interviewed by Daily Mail city editor and Jewish News chairman Alex Brummer, Javid said: “Thankfully I’ve been (to Israel) many times but two of my daugh ters had really wanted to go for a very long time, and each time I had planned a trip, because I was a government minister at

the time, something would come up and I would have to cancel. So one of the first things I did when I resigned and went back to the backbenches was rebook that trip and it was well worth it. I always like going there.”

Javid, who quit as health secretary in July amid a rash of resignations from Boris Johnson’s government, famously once told Conservative Friends of Israel the country would be his top choice if he had to leave the UK for the Middle East.

The AJBN’s day of networking also included panel discussions on property and international free trade and attracted nearly 800 people on the day that had been expected to see the ‘Halloween Budget’.

Javid agreed the UK faces challenging economic times with significant mistakes by Liz Truss and her team, but said there was much to be positive about including “the success of ethnic minorities”.

On the historic appointment of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s first Asian prime min ister, he said: “I’m incredibly proud of it and I think most of the country is. Trevor Noah got it completely wrong with his comments [in claiming Rishi Sunak expe rienced a racist ‘backlash’] .

“With all the other political turmoil we have seen in the last months it’s hard to focus on this because no matter what your politics, Conservative or not, this is some thing we can all celebrate,” he added.

A bumper turn-out of London Assembly mem bers have taken part in a tour highlighting the work of some of the best communal organisa tions in north-west London, with two-thirds of the capital’s elected representatives from across the political spectrum present for the London Jewish Forum event.

It included visits to the Community Security

Trust (CST) headquarters, Alyth Synagogue, and the Rimon and Mathilda Marks Kennedy Jewish primary schools.

At CST, the assembly members were given a comprehensive briefing on the threats faced by the Jewish community, including the 463 antisemitic incidents CST recorded in London over the first half of 2022.

At Alyth Synagogue, members heard about the role of the shul in the lives of many Jewish Londoners, and were treated to Alyth’s very own challah as a going-home present.

Visiting the primary schools, they discussed some of the financial challenges facing educa tional centres across the capital, and the role of British values in Jewish faith schools.

London Assembly members on the tour

Iconic kinder Sir Erich Reich dies, aged 87

Tributes have been paid to the philan thropist and survivor Sir Erich Reich, who died suddenly on Wednesday, aged 87, writes Jenni Frazer.

Manna, the UK branch of the Israeli charity Meir Panim, said: “We are hugely saddened by the passing of Sir Erich Reich, our honorary president, former chairman and friend. For many years he generously supported and championed the impor tant work that Manna Meir Panim does in Israel, and we greatly appreciate the time and kindness Sir Erich gave to us. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family.”

The Association of Jewish Refugees also paid tribute. In a statement, it said: “Sir Erich was a long-time prominent member of the AJR, a former trustee and chair of AJR’s Kindertransport group, a role which he embraced with great respon sibility. He was always ready to advocate for and represent his fellow kinder.

“Sir Erich was proud to be the smallest boy depicted in the famous Kindertrans port statue by Frank Meisler at Liverpool Street Station, yet he had few memories of his own journey to the UK in 1939, at the age of four. Born in Vienna in 1935, Sir Erich never saw his parents again after

they made the decision to send him and his brothers to safety; he later found out his parents were murdered at Auschwitz.

“In 2010 Sir Erich was knighted for his charitable work which has enabled thou sands of people to raise millions of pounds through sponsored challenges such as

bike rides and treks”.

Michael Newman, chief executive of the AJR, said “We are all deeply shocked and hugely saddened by this terrible news. Erich was a great personal friend and mentor to me. We will all miss him terribly.”

PELOSI ‘ATTACKER’ SPREAD JEWISH CONSPIRACIES

The man accused of beating US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer after breaking into their San Fran cisco home in search of her wrote online that Jews are to blame for the war in Ukraine.

Police arrested David DePape for attacking Paul Pelosi while allegedly yelling “Where is Nancy?” Nancy was in Wash ington. Her husband, who is 82, was taken to hospital but is expected to recover.

After police named DePape as the alleged attacker, sugges tions emerged that he was actively engaged online with con spiracy theories about Jews and about Pelosi, who has been a target of supporters of former president Donald Trump.

One of two websites DePape apparently administered includes a category entitled “DaJewbs,” devoted to antisemitic conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial. Numerous recent entries accuse Jews of being behind Russia’s war against Ukraine so they can buy up the land.

Taliban approves shul restoration

Though the Jews of Herat in western Afghanistan haven’t lived there in decades, the city’s historic Yu Aw Synagogue, thought to have been built around the turn of the 20th century, is set to undergo a conservation project backed by the Taliban govern ment, the Art newspaper reports.

The 16-month project, planned by Herat municipality and other local organisations and set to start this month, is to pre vent the collapse of the structure and is being funded with nearly $500,000 from the Aliph Foundation, a Swiss group which protects cultural heritage sites in conflict areas.

The community mikvah, known as the Hammam-e Mosaie, will also be repaired as part of the project.

A two-year restoration of the synagogue was completed in 2009 with funding from another Swiss organisation. It served as an educational centre for women and children for several years but closed again in 2014 due to seepage from what Art said was a “poorly constructed, UN-funded municipal

drainage channel in the adjoining road”. It is also not explicitly a Jewish heritage project.

Herat monuments department head Zalmay Safa said: “This is a cultural and historic site, which is not used as a place of worship, and the local government will support its preser vation. Despite the change in government, our historic sites remain protected and they are not in any way connected to religious matters.

“There is a lot of interest in preserving and studying issues related to culture and history,” Safa added. “We want to prove that we are tolerant and accepting of one another, we seek peace and we are not extremists.”

Herat’s Jewish population, once numbered in the tens of thousands, dropped to about 280 families by 1948, many moving to Israel or the United States. The local Jewish com munity had left completely by the 1970s and nearly all the Jews of Afghanistan left in the following decades.

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Arrested: David DePape

WINTON’S TREE OF HONOUR Nicholas Paul Winton plants a tree in the Alley of Freedom in Racineves, Czech Republic, to honour his father Sir Nich olas Winton, who saved Jewish children in the Holocaust.

Sir Erich next to Frank Meisler’s Kindertransport sculpture – of which the smallest figure was modelled on Erich – to mark 80th anniversary of the transports

“We support the

not

150 Jewish communities will honour Rabbi Sacks

More than 150 Jewish communities from six continents will commemorate the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks later this month by discussing his philosophies and teachings, writes Adam Decker.

The event will take place November 13 and 14, marking the second anniversary of his passing.

The intercontinental commemoration called “Communities in Conversation,” o ers participants to discuss the writings and philosophy of Rabbi Sacks on this year’s theme, “From Optimism to Hope.”

Communities and Jewish day schools across Israel, the UK, United States, Canada, Aus-

tria, Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kuwait, The Netherlands, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expected to join the day of learning, inspired by Rabbi Sacks’ teachings and passion for learning through dialogue.

“His mission to inspire deeper conversations on what Judaism means to the individual remain just as relevant on his second yahrzeit as they were when he first spoke them,” Rabbi Sacks Legacy chief executive Joanna Benarroch said. “In his memory, we will bring communities and schools together to learn and to discuss, sharing his wisdom and his teachings with each other and with the world,” she added.

“My father learned from books, from text, from laws, history, and from world events. But mainly, he learned from people,” said Rabbi Sacks’ daughter, Gila.

“He would seek out people to learn from, from every possible path of life, and he would do this through conversation – through talking and listening. For him, conversation was a defining and spiritual act, a way of opening ourselves up to something beyond the individual, a training perhaps, for opening ourselves up to God.”

The multifaceted lesson plan, which includes curated videos and source sheets, is aimed at sparking discussion among participants of all ages and all religious backgrounds.

Montefiore fountain to be restored in Stepney

Jewish heritage groups have expressed “delight” after learning an historic fountain in London’s East End built to honour a Jewish philanthropist is being restored, writes Adam Decker.

The Heritage of London Trust (HOLT) said it was saving a neglected and broken 138-year-old fountain

dedicated to Leonard Montefiore, a passionate supporter of women’s emancipation in Victorian England.

The move, as well as providing free fresh drinking water to the local community of Stepney Green in Tower Hamlets, would also be educational, HOLT said.

“Young people from East London

will be brought to visit to learn about the Jewish history of the area, as part of our Proud Places programme,” said a spokeswoman. Montefiore was born in 1853 and died young, aged 26, of rheumatic fever. He was a nephew of the financier Sir Moses Montefiore, and his friends included playwright

Oscar Wilde and historian Arnold Toynbee.

During his short life, Leonard Montefiore was secretary of the Society for the Extension of University Teaching in Tower Hamlets, a member of the Jewish Board of Guardians and a fierce and vocal advocate of women’s su rage.

The drinking fountain was erected in his memory in 1884, five years after his death. The poetic inscription describes him as having a “clear brain and sympathetic heart, a spirit on flame with love for man, hands quick to labour, slow to part, if any good since time began, a soul can fashion, such souls can”.

Rabbi Lord Sacks at a Jewish News event Photo by Blake Ezra Photography

Brainy breakthrough

early Parkinson’s

A new Israeli brain scan technique could lead to routine screening to diagnose cases of Parkinson’s disease at its onset, scientists say, writes Nathan Jeffay.

Pharmaceutical companies are expected to receive approvals in the coming years for drugs to treat Parkinson’s, and a major challenge for doctors is to identify early who is developing the disease and therefore who should receive the drugs.

Regular MRI scans, the usual method of visualising brain structure, don’t show the onset of Parkinson’s as they aren’t sensitive enough.

The disease — which disproportionately a ects Ashkenazi Jews — is normally diagnosed during clinical testing, in which doctors make an assessment based on symptoms rather than on the state of the brain.

There is another method, which assesses the state of the brain, but it involves injecting a radioactive substance, so it isn’t widely used because of its invasiveness and high cost.

Prof. Aviv Mezer said his team of

researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem has developed an easyto-scale objective method for diagnosis — one which assesses brain scans based on measurements of decay in the brain, and gives a clear yes or no answer for the presence of the disease.

The researchers have confirmed proof of concept and are working on

a tool for use in clinics.

“This is very positive, as scientists prefer objective measurements like this one over the assessment of symptoms by doctors, and could very much advance diagnosis,” Mezer said.

His team used a special type of brain scan called quantitative MRI or qMRI, which provides detailed measurements from scans. They

RUSSIA’S NEW HATE THREAT

Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s two chief rabbis, has accused a senior defence o cial of antisemitic hate speech over the war in Ukraine, with a spokesperson for the rabbi warning of “a new era in Russia’s relations with Jews”.

Lazar levelled his accusation at Security Council of Russia secretary Aleksey Pavlov who called in a newspaper column for “desatanisation” in Ukraine, which Pavlov claimed had hundreds of neo-pagan cults including “the Chabad-Lubavitch sect,” as he called it.

Lazar’s most senior spokesman, Rabbi Boruch Gorin, wrote on Facebook Pavlov’s words went farther than Stalinist propaganda in the 1930s and he feared the remark “will go down in history as beginning of a new era in Russia’s relations with Jews”.

Lazar’s o ce called Pavlov’s column “a piece of vulgar antisemitism”, with Lazar, whose group has been walking a political tightrope since the Ukraine invasion, saying Russian Jews demanded “an immediate, unambiguous response” to Pavlov’s “dangerous” statements.

Israel and Lebanon sign maritime deal Google joins uni in tech project

Israel and Lebanon have finally signed a USbrokered agreement that establishes maritime boundaries between the countries, allowing each to explore for fossil fuels unthreatened by the prospect of an attack.

Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid said the deal was “an historic breakthrough” but was criticised by former premier Benjamin Netanyahu who said it conceded too much.

Lapid told the Cabinet meeting which approved the deal: “This is a diplomatic achievement. It is not every day an enemy country recognises the State of Israel, in a written agreement, in view of the international community.”

Lebanon has been among Israel’s most implacable enemies for decades, influenced to a large degree by the Hezbollah terrorist militia.

Google and Reichman University in Herzliya are establishing a school for high-tech professions with courses o ered to students at the university and Google Campus in Tel Aviv ranging from programming to software testing, business development, sales and data analysis.

“Under-represented populations will have an equal opportunity to join the programme regardless of their financial ability to pay for the course,” a joint statement said.

Reichman said admission will be based on “abilities, qualifications, and interpersonal skills – tuition fees will not be a barrier or a consideration in the admissions process.”

Google for its part will provide scholarships to participants out of a “shared vision to make high-tech training accessible to all”.

then developed an algorithm to analyse the measurements.

Using this, they were able to get the detailed information that regular MRIs have failed to yield for Parkinson’s diagnosis, namely information on changes in microstructures within the striatum, a region in the forebrain that is critical to motor function.

Previous research shows that the striatum deteriorates during the progress of Parkinson’s disease. As this region is so important in allowing people to control their muscles, it is believed to impair this ability.

While the most noticeable e ects are tremors and a hunched stance, patients su ering from Parkinson’s often lose control of their primary and secondary motor skills, su er from vision, bladder and sleep issues, and can eventually lose their memories and slip into dementia.

Mezer and colleagues set out to find a method for using qMRI imaging to detect this deterioration in its initial stages, and successfully achieved that. They reported their achievement in a peer-reviewed article published on Friday in the Science Advances journal.

“This finding can be used to develop screening tools for Parkinson’s which could help to detect the disease based on brain changes, not on symptoms,” Mezer said. “Successful intervention should be early, so this could actually make it possible to intervene more e ectively.”

His lab is already working on such a tool, which he anticipates could be ready for clinical use three to five years down the line.

Putin in conference with Berel Lazar, left

Parkinson’s disproportionately affects Ashkenazi Jews

Caudate and putamen volumes are markers of Parkinson’s disease

AJEX reveals Cenotaph parade theme is ‘baton of remembrance’

AJEX, the Jewish Military Association, has announced the theme of its 2022 remembrance parade will be connection and passing on the “baton of remembrance”, writes Jenni Frazer.

The parade, due to take place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday 20 November, is in honour of the many Jewish servicemen and women who fought — and continue to fight — as proud representatives of the British Jewish community in the armed forces.

The annual event will pay a special tribute to the late Queen, the military’s commander-in-chief.

AJEX national chair, Dan Fox, said: “The AJEX annual parade remains a unique event for our community. The spread of generations and the mix of military, Jewish and secular rites, connects us to the honour of the dead, the gratitude to those still with us, and the courage of servicemen and women in uniform today. Being a part of it should be one of the proudest moments any of us feels.”

The charity hopes that this year many younger people who have not previously attended will join the parade and wear medals won by their relatives.

For the second time a contingent of cadets from JFS will attend, together with students from other Jewish schools and members of the Jewish community. As this year’s parade falls on Mitzvah Day, AJEX hopes people will take part in the mitzvah of remembrance, either by registering to participate, or saving the date to support the marchers.

To participate in the parade, book your place online by visiting ajex.org.uk/paradebooking. To book a veteran talk email ajexremembers@ajex.org.uk

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaking at a previous AJEX remembrance parade at the Cenotaph

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Special Report

Making the moon bloom

Israeli scientists are planning to try growing seeds into plants on the moon, in the most ambitious attempt yet at extraplanetary agriculture.

The project is the next frontier for a research institute in the Negev Desert in south Israel, a region famously inhospitable to agriculture but which has nevertheless been made to bloom in populated areas.

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Beersheba’s Ben Gurion University investigates how to grow food in arid regions on Earth and is now making its first foray into space

during its attempt to land, dashing the hopes of hundreds of engineers who had worked on the project for years.

The mini-greenhouse that is being prepared for Beresheet 2’s journey will be sealed to retain the Earth’s atmosphere but will be subject to the moon’s microgravity, which does not exist on the International Space Station.

It will automatically spring into action once Beresheet 2 lands, but will have a battery life of only 72 hours, so it will include fast-growing species from the family known as resurrection plants, and will wrap up the experiments quickly.

Paving the way for self-sustaining lunar bases, the institute that helps turn Negev and other arid areas fertile is preparing to blast a greenhouse of seeds and plants into space, writes Nathan Jaffay

Plants are grown on the International Space Station but other agriculture in space is so far limited to a Chinese cotton seed that sprouted on the moon in 2019.

Ben Gurion researchers are working with Australian and South African universities to prepare a tiny 2-kilo greenhouse of seeds and plants that will head to the moon in 2025 aboard Beresheet 2, the second attempt at an unmanned moon landing by the Israeli SpaceIL nonprofit.

The first Beresheet spacecraft crashed into the moon’s surface in April 2019

Prof Simon Barak of the Blaustein Institute told The Times of Israel: “Bases on the moon or colonies on Mars could become a reality, and we’re exploring whether we know how to grow plants there”, adding that his approach of sealed chambers dispatched from Earth would be a likely solution.

“Plants would be important for food, for oxygen, for medication, for removing CO2 from the air, and also for general wellbeing, as it’s known that having plants around you promotes wellbeing.”

The chamber he is preparing, along with colleagues Prof Aaron Fait and Dr. Tarin Paz-Kagan and international collaborators, will automatically water, heat and photograph the seeds and plants, and contain enough atmospheric gases for the duration of the experiment.

Another challenge is robustness. “It will need to survive a four-and-a-half month journey to the moon, with temperature extremes,” Barak said.

He said the project will have a strong ‘citizen science’ component, with people across Israel and outside, including high school students, urged to grow the same seeds and plants as those dispatched to the moon. These will constitute control experiments, for comparison with those on the moon.

Barak says he believes the experiment could potentially be important in the discussion about humanity expanding beyond Earth.

“People ask me why we spend money on space if we’ve got problems that need addressing here on Earth,” he remarked.

“I reply that Earth is finite, its resources are finite, and if we care about the future, we may need the means to leave the planet and reach for the stars.”

POSITION FOR A

Secretary/Administrator

Conflict of loyalties

Contiuned from page 1

Over the coming months we will likely see Israel do things that, if it were any other country, we would condemn without hesitation. Religious Zionism wants a law that gives Netanyahu a Get Out of Jail Free card. They would annul those charges of fraud and breach of trust by ending his trial.

Ben-Gvir could soon be Public Security Minister. He would make soldiers and police officers immune from prosecution and allow them to use more live fire in confrontations with Palestinians and Arab Israelis.

There are now difficult questions for us in Britain to answer. If Minister Ben-Gvir were to visit this country, anyone who agrees to meet him runs the risk of legitimising hatred. What will the Board of Deputies do, or the Jewish Leadership Council? What about Ben-Gvir’s hypothetical ministerial coun terpart – the Home Secretary, perhaps?

As the election results rolled in, the bodies that represent UK Jewry kept an uneasy silence. Perhaps they were hoping the few remaining votes to be counted will swing the result away from the Netanyahu camp and towards another political stalemate. That is a futile dream. Hatred is already in the Knesset and may well prop up the next Israeli government. It is not befitting this country that many of us love and many of us pray for.

The time has come for us to consider our own response to the tragic con flict of loyalties with which we have all been wrestling for perhaps too long.

That is why this newspaper loudly denounced the far-right’s surge a fortnight ago. That is why we now call on our community’s leaders to show similar resolve. If that must mean a fundamental change to our relationship with Israel’s government, so be it.

University challenge

The president of the National Union of Students Shaima Dallali was dismissed from her role this week – the first head of the organisation to be fired in its 100-year history – following an independent investigation into antisemitism claims against her and the student body.

Rather than solely focus on tackling tuition fees, the cost of living, student debt, dodgy landlords, mental health – all the stuff students need help with –Dallali and some of her recent predecessors have much preferred to obses sively harass and isolate young Jews. This behaviour was prompted, one can only imagine, by mindless prejudices absorbed in their youth.

Aged 18, Dallali tweeted: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return”, referencing a massacre of Jews in AD 628. She apologised, insisting she is now “a different person”. Yet she made no apology for calling homo phobic, antisemitic Holocaust denier Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi “the moral compass for the Muslim community” in 2018, or for calling the Jordanian cleric Dr Waseem Yousef a “dirty Zionist” in 2021 after he spoke harshly about Hamas. In what universe was it seen as a good idea to have someone with a history of proud prejudice against Jewish people run for president of the NUS in the first place?

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

LETTERS

Send us your comments

Where’s the evidence?

Your correspondent Adrian Korsner (Jewish News, 13 October), criticises a report by Atira Winchester about Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Winchester provides a firsthand account, detailing examples of the treatment of the local population and threats of house demolitions and evictions made possible by the use of discriminatory laws such as the Absentee Property law. Mr Korsner states the piece is “one-sided selective political opinion and completely incorrect”, but provides no real

evidence to back his claims. He makes no specific comment on the issue of house demolitions or evictions. Instead he attempts to rewrite history.

As someone with strong Zionist leanings, I accept that Jewish people have a claim to the land of Israel but their claim is not unique.

Muslim and Christian Arabs who reside in the region also have a historical claim and there can be no long-term peace with out accepting this fact.

Fraser Michaelson Southgate

MEMORIES OF RABBI ZALUD

I was pleased to see your report (13 October) on the “remark able” rabbi, Norman Zalud, who I remember from long ago when he was a young man and I was a lot younger still.

He used to visit my late uncle, Jack Kandler, every Shabbat afternoon to practise leading services. I used to listen to him reciting various prayers, with my uncle listening and correct ing or advising him from time to time. My uncle was for many years a stalwart of Edgware United Synagogue and an excel lent chazan in his own right, though always very modest about his talent. I wonder if Rabbi Zalud remembers Uncle Jack? Geoffrey Bernstein, Harrow

‘OUTRAGE’ PAGE

I found criticism of your front page on the state of Israeli politics hard to stomach. We may not have a vote in Israel but as British Jews we have a voice. Most of us identify with the Jewish state, want it to be the best version of itself and want other countries to support it and respect its decisions. How is this possible if people like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir are given a platform and a chance to shape the country’s future?

Esther Engleman Southend

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ENFANTS TERRIBLE

The right thing to do with the two enfants terribles, Smotrich and Ben Gvir, in our diverse and loving Jewish family is to embrace them, not show them the door. Such a lowly act is damaging to our cohesion and deprives us of deeper understanding. The situa tion could be remedied by extending an invitation to the two and providing a platform so they can explain themselves.

Eda Spinka, Hendon

CHANUKAH BUS ATTACK

Linda Shaw’s comments on the Chanukah bus attack were, sadly, spot on (20 October). If the police did their job properly, and some of their employees, as well as people in our wider society, were not so antisemitic, there would be no need for Jewish News to offer a reward.

JD Milaric, By email

BOARD DILEMMA

Correspondent D Rosenthhal says in his letter last week “leftleaning” Israeli Presi dent Yitzhak Herzog castigated the Board of Deputies for telling Bezalel Smotrich to sling his hook. I have a question for the Board. If Smotrich and

his mate Itamar BenGvir become ministers in a Netanyahu coali tion, will you maintain your courageous line against them and not engage with the Israeli government or will it be business as usual?

Joe Millis, By email

THE JACOB FOUNDATION

Jewish News is owned by The Jacob Foundation, a registered UK charity promoting cohesion and common ground across the UK Jewish community and between British Jews and wider society. Jewish News promotes these aims by delivering dependable and balanced news reporting and analysis and celebrating the achievements of its vibrant and varied readership. Through the Jacob Foundation, Jewish News acts as a reliable and independent advocate for British Jews and a crucial communication vehicle for other communal charities.

Shabbat comes in Friday night

Shabbat goes out Saturday night

Sedra: Lech Lecha

‘I’m

Opinion

Disraeli to Sunak: Foul racist prejudice lives on

ARUN SINGH

The momentous rise of Rishi Sunak to become the UK’s first ethnic minority prime minister since Disraeli highlights some interesting parallels and lessons.

The British Indian consciousness is a few generations behind the British Jewish one, yet both communities receive hate and derision from three similar cohorts of extremists – the hardline regressive ‘left’, the far-right and Islamists. Sadly, as Disraeli’s ascension acted as a ‘bat signal’ for antisemitics, Rishi’s rise will likely do the same for anti-Indian racists, in particular Hinduphobes.

Whereas antisemitism is well understood and studied, Hinduphobia is a little more contentious, due partly to the many meanings of the word Hindu, ranging from Hindustan (India) to Hinduism. Using Hindu in a post-colonial religious identity manner, Hinduphobia is discrimination against Hindus, Hindu culture or those perceived/

cast as Hindus. This is di erent from antiIndian racism which is discrimination against those who are ethnically Indian or those who identify as Indian.

Discourse against Rishi is similar to that against Disraeli, with both being accused of dual-allegiances, not working in the national interest or even being a threat to a particular group of self-victimising people.

In the Victorian era, Jews, like Indians, were often depicted as of a lower moral standing and weak. However, in the early 20th century a corrosive narrative of rootless metropolitans seeking ‘global control’ was poisoning the body politic, with antisemitic propaganda such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion being used to justify the marginalisation of Jewish people.

Fast-forward a century and the same racist playbook is being used against the visibly Indian diaspora. Change Zionism to Hindutva and Rothchild to Ambani and the slurs continue, as illustrated from the violent events in Leicester where all three aforementioned extremist cohorts were pushing the baseless narrative of a global RSS/BJP (read

‘Indian Illuminati’) plan to cause community tension and control foreign lands. Such conspiracy theories are used by all three groups, yet they all manifest their prejudice in distinct ways.

It’s no secret the far-right have always had a disdain and suspicion of those ‘of foreign extraction’, hating minority communities for both their economic success while seeing them as culturally and racially inferior. Disraeli, an ethnic Jew but Christian by religion, had bacon stuck on poles waved in front of his face during his election campaign.

Thankfully no beef was waved at Rishi, but there have been dog-whistle and openly racist remarks against him. ‘Rishi Sunak isn’t even British in most people’s opinion’ was infamously spewed out by a member of Rishi’s own Conservative Party on LBC radio.

There have always been elements of the ‘left’ who have seen Jews and Indians needing either ‘civilising/saving’ or curtailing their alleged ‘power’. The regressive ‘left’, who are distinct from the anti-racist or liberal left, see certain group’s as fair game for social marginalisation in a Stalinist

approach to their warped interpretation of social justice. Disraeli, who helped shape the modern Conservative Party, was subjected to antisemitic abuse by those on the opposite benches. For example, his name was purposely mispronounced to ‘B De-judah’ to attract abuses his way.

The third group who prey on Jewish and Indian people are Islamists, distinct from secular or spiritual Muslims but supported by countries like Pakistan and Iran in their battles against countries like India and Israel.

Churchill in 1942 called Indians “a beastly people with a beastly religion’’. Eighty years later, in the 75th year of Indian independence, a fellow Conservative and man of Indian heritage and spirituality runs the country of which his grandparents were colonial subjects.

As Disraeli eloquently said: “Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.’’ With this in mind, we must not be scared to call out racism and prejudice, especially as we are cognisant of the damage it causes.

Arun is a researcher in social cohesion

And now the Jews will be accused of killing Yeezus

ALEX HEARN LABOUR AGAINST ANTISEMITISM

Some people say politics is the new religion. According to a YouGov poll in 2020, only a quarter of Britons believe in God. Across the western world religion is in decline, leaving a void that is arguably being filled by political doctrine. After all, most people still need a sense of belonging, alongside a belief in something greater than themselves.

This helps to explain why people in the Labour Party found it so di cult to confront antisemitism in their ranks. Their beliefs, social circles and even families were intrinsically linked to the Labour Party.

They felt a misplaced sense of loyalty to protect immorality for the greater good of the party. Many who spoke out were socially isolated from their peers, friends and even family in some cases. They were treated like heretics.

Whichever political badge is being flaunted,

people have rediscovered conspiracies about Jews as a tool to gain advantage over their opponents.

This, combined with blind faith in the creed, means that many people will not bat an eyelid about antisemitism provided you identify with the correct badge.

For example, despite posting Holocaust denial to her 91k followers on social media, Palestine Action’s UK based activist Sarah Wilkinson has not been ostracised.

Since an anti-Israel stance is often a marker of progressive politics and Palestine Action damages businesses with even tenuous links to Israel, her views are embraced as ‘progressive’. Which brings me to Kanye West. His antisemitism was public knowledge from as early as 2013, but he was welcomed in progressive spaces because his politics were acceptable. After he switched to supporting Donald Trump, wore a white supremacist slogan and made antisemitic comments endorsed by Nazi saluting fascists, condemning Kanye West suddenly became a risk free activity for progressive accounts.

Pointing out others’ antisemitism can even

be used to whitewash one’s own transgressions. For example, comedian Chelsea Handler, who has 7.8 million followers, endorsed hate preacher Louis Farrakhan, who has called Jews ‘satanic’, ‘termites’ and ‘degenerate’ and described Adolf Hitler as a ‘great man.’

On the other hand popular conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens, who have wholeheartedly denounced left-wing antisemitism, have made excuses for West’s comments. Conservative radio show presenter Jesse Kelly told his 555.3k followers that Jews were ‘equally terrible’ as Kanye West for objecting to his antisemitic comments.

Antisemitism hasn’t risen because of one political camp but because people irrationally fantasise about what Jews get up to.

It is not political, but it is often used as a political football.

For example, MSNBC presenter Medhi Hasan responded to West’s comments by posting to his 1.2 million followers that the rise of antisemitism was down to ‘mainstreaming on the right’.

However, Medhi Hasan didn’t once object to working for Al-Jazeera, who have broadcasted

Holocaust denial and hosted a figure who used their platform to incite hate against Jews and even praise Hitler, Islamic Scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

A Jewish joke has being doing the rounds that the Jews will be accused of killing Yeezus (Yeezus is a stage name of Kanye West). Given the capacity of social media to propagate conspiracy theory, was it even worth speaking out against his comments?

When Adidas finally dropped West, some claimed it proved his point about Jewish power. Mental health brand ambassador and ex-sportsman Torrey Smith told his 578k followers that West ‘o ended a group of people with power and influence in every space’.

We cannot help that some people will always say bad things about Jews. We also cannot help that some people have used this incident to whitewash their own incitement, or that others have used it as an opportunity to attack their political opponents.

All we can do is fight our corner. A powerful man with more followers on social media than there are Jews in the world should not be free to spread antisemitism without consequences.

Opinion

Revealed: the enigmatic legacy of Edmond Safra

ALEX BRUMMER CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL & CHAIR OF JEWISH NEWS

The fountain and terrace at the core of Somerset House is one of the great open spaces in central London. In summer, children can be seen dodging the spray and the terrace is used for large outdoor art installations, festivals and summer concerts.

Less recognised is the simple inscription on the back of the fountain dedicated to Edmond J Safra with some uplifting words from the psalmist. Safra is an enigma, the scion of a banking family, often referred to as the Sephardi Rothschilds, who briefly occupied headlines in 1999 when he died in a mysterious fire in his Monaco apartment.

More than two decades on, the veil of secrecy over Safra’s life is lifted in a book by the financial writer Daniel Gross. The Edmond J Safra Philanthropic Foundation granted Gross access to a treasure trove of documents, personal letters and files, as well as taped interviews with the late banker’s friends and associates. It reveals a great, unsung life which has been vital to the survival of Sephardi observances and culture.

In Britain we talk about the importance

of community. Few will have given much thought to Aleppo, an ancient Syrian city all but destroyed by Russian-backed militias in the Syrian civil war. From ancient times, Aleppo was a town of great Talmudic scholarship and a thriving commercial centre where Jewish and Arabic culture lived side-by-side.

Gross traces the path of the Safra clan from Aleppo to Lebanon, where the original small family lender, Banque de Credit National, still operates (despite decades of strife). The patriarch of the clan, Jacob, sent his 15-year-old son Edmond o to Milan in the late 1940s, as the old colonial order was breaking down in the Middle East. His mission was to service the needs of the Sephardi diaspora widely dispersed by the turmoil in the Middle East which followed World War Two and the creation of Israel.

Using a network of Aleppo and Beirut kinsman and friends, and notations in a unique mixture of Arabic and Hebrew, Edmond started by trading gold coins and foreign currency. Eventually, he established enough capital to found the Trade Development Bank (TDB) in Geneva.

From this base, Edmond established a bridgehead to Brazil through his younger brother Joseph. In Geneva, Milan and across Europe, Edmond o ered financial refuge to the elite Jews of the Middle East. In Brazil,

Joseph, with Edmond’s help, became banker to descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews escaping Lebanese exile, as well as Ashkenazi refugees from Nazism.

A curiosity in this narrative is while Edmond Safra sought quietly to build the downtrodden Sephardi Jewish institutions in Israel, building synagogues and schools, until very late in life he steered clear of the Jewish state, fearing if he ventured there his clients, ranging from the remnants of Aleppo and Lebanon to South American governments, could end up on the Arab League blacklists. His was a discreet form of banking and philanthropy designed to be in the shadows.

That would change in 1972 when, with the help of bankers NM Rothschild and Lord Jacob Rothschild in particular, the

TDB floated on the London Stock Exchange in a public o ering. The float opened the floodgates to the re-emergence of the City of London as a financial powerhouse. Edmond built a powerful Swiss/UK presence and had seen the Brazilian bank run by Joseph grow into a private behemoth.

Edmond then embarked on his greatest project, launching an American venture –bringing European values of client care to the Republic National Bank in New York. Among his innovations, designed to circumvent US banking rules on advertising, he attracted retail clients by o ering free TVs if they opened accounts. Republic was later sold to HSBC for $10bn in the early 1990s.

Edmond Safra was intensely religious and throughout his life laid tefillin. He preferred a peripatetic, quiet existence until his marriage relatively late in life to the glamorous widow Lily Monteverde in 1976. At the time of the wedding, Lily reputedly was as rich as Safra himself. Her influence brought Edmond out of the shadows with grand parties at financial gatherings and public charitable giving.

That legacy continues with gifting to Sephardi religious causes, lifting the standard of living of Israel’s Mizrachi Jews and combatting Parkinson’s disease (Edmond was a su erer in later life).

In death, his work lives on.

Teach this: Kanye West is doing what Nazis did

MARC CAVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HOLOCAUST CENTRE AND MUSEUM

Kanye believe it? Here we go again. Not ‘Oh no not another anti-Jewish conspiracy theory’ so much as ‘Oh no, not another flaccid Jewish response’. For all the righteous condemnation of the personal issues maelstrom known as Kanye West, none of it would make me think again. If I were a Jewhating racist, it would reinforce it. Venting on Twitter doesn’t work. Angrily cancelling the hater doesn’t work either if there is no educational follow-up. It makes the conspiracy theorist double down.

Besides, bad stories and storytellers travel four times faster than good ones. So that video saying “Kanye is right about the Jews” will be winning more hearts and minds than that well-intended rebuttal. This is a call for racism campaigning, be it anti-Jewish or any other racism, to adopt a set of arms, which can win

more battles. Without them, we will again lose the war. How long before tragedies at Pittsburgh, Capitol Hill or beatings-up in Stamford Hill become full-scale pogroms?

The new weapon is behavioural psychology. When I ran advertising agencies, we obsessed about finding the message for our clients that would change their target audiences’ attitudes. From there, behaviour change follows. Audience selection was crucial. Often it would mean floating voters, not hardcore unpersuadables. We need to find a narrative that unites and activates the great silent majority.

I’m not saying it’s easy. The Story Paradox: how our love of storytelling builds societies and tears them down by Jonathan Gottschall argues that we are at a horrible ‘tear them down’ moment in history. When we evolved from isolated hunter-gatherers into villages, it was stories that kept us together; they created common values and goals. But now, bad story peddlers like Putin, Trump – and, yes, Kanye West, Wiley, Mel Gibson, Louis Farrakhan, David Miller and Chris Williamson – are destroying them, aided by algorithms that spread their hate at speeds Goebbels could only have gawped at.

So why do people lap it up? Gottschall argues that it appeals to our primal need for baddies to hate, to judge and feel morally superior to. For at least 2,000 years ‘the Jews’ (a conspiracy theorist phrase in itself – imagine speaking of ‘the gays’ or ‘the blacks’) – are the baddies millions have loved to hate.

Behavioural sciences o er many ways to tackle the problem. We have simply to try them. To quote my brilliant colleague Maiken Umbach, chief academic adviser to the National Holocaust Museum and professor of modern

history at Nottingham University: “Fighting conspiracy theories with factual debunking does not work. They are rarely logical to start with.

“More e ective might be to point out whose thinking the conspiracy theorists share. Nazi propaganda popularised the mother of all conspiracy theories – the world Jewish conspiracy – and created iconic slogans and images to embed it. It blamed the Jews for the su ering of workers, of black people, you name it. This propaganda obtained the consent of millions to the Holocaust.” In other words, it is time to educate the decent ‘floating voter’ that West is doing what the Nazis did: mobilising his 18 million Instagram and 32 million Twitter followers to scapegoat.

Where should we begin? One place that has lots of floating voters is schools. There will never be a slot on the curriculum for ‘antiJewish racism education’. But there is a slot for ‘Holocaust education’. Imagine if we used it to look at the dangers of today, not just to bleed our hearts for the yesterdays we can’t change?

Now there’s an idea that we might be able to do something about…

Edmond J Safra pictured as a teemager

EFFECTIVE THAN REBUTTAL IS TO SHOW WHOSE THINKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

Idon’t belong here with the fishballs. I don’t even like fishballs. Guess I’ll just die alone,” wails Ari, who is 29 ¾ and desperate to find a husband.

Created by writer and actress Deli Segal, Ari is the lead character in Pickle, a hugely entertaining and brilliantly funny play that returns to the Park Theatre this month.

Though it’s described as a one-woman show, Pickle is really a two-hander because of Ari’s formidable Jewish conscience, a dominating presence that makes itself heard throughout the play as its host contends with being a young single Jewish female in north London. Regrettably, Ari still lives at home with her parents, and in order to escape she has to find Mr Right via numerous Mr Wrongs – who are so vividly described, you might even know them.

“I felt like there weren’t any plays or TV shows that represented the contemporary, Jewish, young female experience,” says Deli, 32. “There are a lot of stories about the Holocaust, or history like Ridley Road, and of course there was Friday Night Dinner, but nothing that showcased the experience that I had growing up in a north west London Jewish family.”

The show isn’t autobiographical but Deli has experienced many of its themes and has grown up in the world of Jewish dating, singles

events and porn parties that she portrays to hilarious e ect. “There is such rich humour, entertainment, heart and warmth in Judaism, all of which I wanted to bring to a Jewish show,” she says. “After two years of lockdown people don’t want to watch something that’s about su ering.” Having two hats on and thinking from both the writer’s perspective and the performer’s perspective was daunting but she also notes with a smile that “it’s easier to learn the lines when you’ve written them yourself”.

Tanya Truman, 27, who produced the show, says that while Ari sees the world through the eyes of a young, single Jewish female, there are a lot of di erent things that audience members can pull from the show and connect to.

When I saw Pickle in May, I related to it as the mother of a daughter who’s a similar age to Ari. But I also found myself thinking about my own dating experiences as a young, single female. Thirty years on, it appears the themes are still the same within a Jewish family.

Deli agrees. “Judaism is updating but some things remain quite conservative, and the values tend to be quite traditional. As we progress as women in the modern world, all these things kind of evolve, but there is always that slight tension between reconciling one’s beliefs with something that feels true to them. That’s something I tried to explore in Pickle.”

There’s a hilarious scene where Ari dates a New Yorker. “I’m really interested in the British Jewish community, in comparison with America, where we are less of a minority.” She says in America there’s a sense of being more at ease with one’s Jewishness. “As an example, not feeling awkward at work when you say, ‘I’m taking o time for Jewish holidays.’ In the USA, most people understand what kosher is. Whereas here, I feel like... as a Jew you’re always having to explain yourself, and then that makes you question ‘What am I?’ and ‘How do I feel about my Jewishness?’ That is something I was trying to circle around in the play.”

The May run was sold out. When Deli and

Tanya again again approached the Arts Council, which had provided an initial round of funding, they were delighted to be awarded more money. The Park o ered them a second, longer run and the play has also been invited to the Manchester Jewish Museum in December and the Radlett Centre in January.

“There’s been a big shift in the last few years, where under-represented backgrounds are being recognised for their stories and for sharing those stories with an authentic team,” says Tanya. “There have been shows about the Jewish experience that haven’t included Jews in the process. I think we attracted the Arts Council to our piece because we are a female, Jewish-led core team. And whilst we’re not saying you have to be Jewish to be on the team or you have to be female, those core values matter to us.”

Their ultimate goal is to get the show into the West End. “At the Park it was largely a Jewish audience but there were non-Jews, many of whom said they still connected to the piece. It’s essentially about your parents, your background and clashing with your choices,” notes Deli, who read English at Cambridge before studying at East 15 drama school. “That’s universal for people from lots of di erent cultures.”

Having worked mostly as an actor, the success of Pickle has spurred Deli on to write

Inside

projects with a bigger scope. “I’m open to writing about all kinds of experiences and I’m thinking about the male Jewish experience.

My next project is a horror play about Jewish demonology, so it’s very, very di erent. “

Trained in musical theatre as a performer, Tanya found herself producing during the pandemic. “The majority of the work I’ve produced has been with females and a lot of it with Jewish content as well. I didn’t go to Jewish school and many my friends are actually non-Jewish, but I found a Jewish theatre creative circle, which has been amazing.”

Pickles, fishballs and suspicious parents – it doesn’t get much more Jewish than that.

• Pickle opens at Park Theatre on 14 November. parktheatre.co.uk

Paws here! Junior news and fun Liz Truss’ trainer

A look

Tanya Truman: ‘We are a Jewish-led, core team’

Louisa Walters meets the writer–lead and the producer of a comedy returning to the Park Theatre this month a er its sold-out run earlier in the year

Photo by Aidan Orange Photography Photo by Yellow Belly Photography

They came, we prayed, let’s eat. Food is a fundamental part of every celebration, and whatever your budget you want to feed your guests that very best that your money can buy.

Kushan Marthelis at Cacao Catering has been doing this for years. He knows how to please your guests even better than you do, and if you want to keep it kosher, he can do that too.

The events industry has bounced back with a boom after a really difficult couple of years, but Kushan is careful not to tread on anyone’s toes. He recognises that there are many elements to making a function and no one person can do it all. While he can absolutely oversee all elements of your party, his advice is to hire a party planner.

“I am the expert in the food but they are the experts in arranging the party,” he says when we chat at his restaurant in Borehamwood. He lives in the area with his Hungarian Jewish wife, Kinga, and their two children, Kala, eight, and Keyani, four. “However, it’s my team taking the instructions so I need to be sure they are up to it. The most important thing for me is that my clients can relax and enjoy the party – and know that their guests are being well fed.”

Have events changed over the past few years, I wonder? “I don’t think they have,” says Kushan. “The function is basically the same but the food is more interesting. People used to stick to classic dishes but now they travel more and they eat out more,

and they want the amazing dishes they have discovered recreated at their party. They are more open to suggestions - they like variety and options. I need to be innovative.”

Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Kushan, 41, has trained at some of London’s finest restaurants, providing the finesse that we in his work today. The creativity and artistry is all his own, though, and canapes such as Korean smoked bbq chicken or coconut sea bass with mango salsa and blackened aubergine are an amazing way to get your party started.

Bowl food is becoming a big thing at functions and with options such as blackened cod with coconut rice, miso dressing and lime leaves or braised beef with crushed baby potatoes, caramelised onion and wild mushroom, Cacao Catering is a big player in this field. “When you want to invite lots of people but don’t have the space to seat them, bu ets, food stations and bowl food are the answer,” says Kushan. “For a barmitzvah I often advise a sit-down Friday night dinner which the grandparents will really enjoy and then a party at the weekend to invite everyone. That way the older people get to spend proper time with the family, and they still come to the party and enjoy that too.”

Rising costs are on everyone’s mind and while Cacao Catering’s won’t be the lowest quote you get (this level of expertise and quality doesn’t come cheap), Kushan will work with your budget. “People need to look at how to spend their

money. They are still investing in the key elements of food and music but some of the extras might be curtailed. If you are having food stations, consider just two or three rather than five. For me it’s not all about the money, it’s about creating what is right for you and your guests – and certainly not about impressing the neighbours. I will always try my best to accommodate and if there’s a dish you once had on holiday or at a restaurant and you want it at your party I will create it for you.”

Kushan points out that putting up a marquee can be cheaper than venue dry hire, and you will certainly save money on alcohol if you buy it yourself. That said, Cacao Bar & Cocktails can take the stress out of that for you.

When there are dishes like sake marinated yellowfin tuna with Japanese mooli salad, yuzu and mandarin dressing, and butternut squash ravioli with spiced lime and coconut sauce on the menu, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Kushan’s food is too fancy for kids.

“We always have kids dishes – and the adults always pinch them!” he says. With options like chicken katsu with Thai rice and katsu sauce, mini fish and chips with tartare sauce, and mac and cheese that’s not surprising.

“The most important part of the event is dessert,” says Kushan. Miso brulee with sesame praline cracker

or ginger sticky to ee pudding with salted caramel, anyone? Of course he has to cater for vegan guests, and diets free of gluten, nuts or dairy, but none of this a challenge for him.

Kushan keeps a close eye on every event. “To be a success in this industry you need to observe and keep on top of changing habits. What we think we know today will be history in two years. We can never rest on our laurels and think we know everything. If we don’t stay sharp there will always be someone new on the block who will take over.

“Every client’s party is a big thing for them. It’s possibly once in a lifetime, so they want it to be the best. For that they need to hire the best – so we need to make sure that we are the best.”

www.cacaocatering.co.uk

• The Big Event wedding and bar/ batmitzvah show is on Sunday 13 November at DoubleTree by Hilton, Elstree WD6 5PU, 11am-4pm

recreated

Kushan’s bu ets are legendary for their choice and artistry

Salmon poke bowls; dill-cured salmon gravadlax with Japanese pickle

Ahead of the Jewish News’ Big Event show next weekend, Louisa Walters chats to caterer Kushan Marthelis, whose style, charm and innovation are taking the simcha circuit by storm

HERE’S ROCCO!

With TV’s favourite legal eagle Robert Rinder as his owner, French Bulldog Rocco is ready to unleash...

The Judge has been filming in Israel and le me at home.

Location shooting has been o the table since I attacked a flu y boom mic, but no matter. I’ve made use of the time and got into politics. How could I not, when an interminable game of musical chairs at Westminster culminated with a canine first? A dog who previously lived at No 11 Downing Street moved into No 10. Trust me when I tell you that hounds were howling across the country and I almost got o the sofa. Nova Sunak, a rather striking Labrador retriever, set the barking bar for the four-legged by moving from one bijou circa 1682 property to another with his master – Rishi, the new PM. I just wish Nova and I were better acquainted. Only then would I get an invite to roam, pee and chase forgotten cocktail sticks in the SW1A garden where that cheese and wine party was held.

Home Not Alone

Chrismukah is but weeks away, and a holiday may be on your agenda. Unless you are taking your pets to sunnier climbs, they need looking a er by the right kind of people. Trusted Housesitters can provide those people, and even at short notice if you’re lucky. Founded by animal lovers, the company provides verified sitters with references to stay in your home with your animals. No more packing Rover or Tonto o to kennels or reluctant friends. Just sign up and scroll through a list of pet lovers who enjoy living in di erent parts of the UK or the world for short or extended periods. You’ll feel safe and so will your fur babies. Visit trustedhousesitters.com or call 08081 785384

Meet Man’s Best Friend

There’s nothing like the loving relationship between a guide dog and its owner, who relies on an animal for invaluable assistance in everyday life. Witnessing this firsthand is a privilege being offered by the UK arm of the Israel Guide Dog Centre when it brings IDF veteran Benzi, and his PTSD service dog, Lugo, to its annual reception on 11 November. This is the first time a veteran has travelled to the UK with his service dog, and he will be accompanied by Yariv Melamed, head of service dogs training at the Israel Guide Dog Centre.

There’s

into his home back in April. Now that the Right Honourable gentleman is business secretary, he

Unfortunately, Nova’s pup pal, Dilyn, a rescue Jack Russell-cross, isn’t around to show her where the bones are buried as he vacated with the previous tenants, Boris and Carrie Johnson. There’s Larry of course, whose looks belie his age (15), but like all cats, the Downing Street veteran still wants to be chased for intel, and who can be bothered? Certainly not me. Entitled cats are painful, though not as painful as the dog who sunk his teeth into Penny Mordaunt’s fingers as she posted campaign leaflets in 2019. If Penny had made it to PM, her Belgian Malinois, Carla, would now be chasing Larry around No 10, but I knew it wouldn’t happen because of the shoes. I’ve told you about my penchant for good footwear and Penny’s block mid-heels could never li her to those dizzy heights. Now that Christian Louboutin is making heels for men, aspiring ministers should consider getting a pair. Who knows where three inches could take Sir Keir Starmer? It was Sir Keir who referred to Boris Johnson’s cabinet as a “ Z list cast of nodding dogs”, which is not only unfair to dogs, but to the likes of kinder MPs. Like Grant Shapps for example, who welcomed a Ukrainian refugee family and their dog, Max, into his home back in April. Now that the Right Honourable gentleman is business secretary, he could take a look at the rising cost of dog food. I’ll be the first to call him pedigree chum.

I’ll be the first to call him pedigree chum.

In anticipation,

Rocco

The charity wants the welcome at the north-west London venue to be one they won’t forget. And you won’t either. There’s a surprise guest too at the event, but act fast as numbers are limited. annualreception@israelguidedog.org.uk

Contact: martin@israelguidedog.org.uk

Salon Space Seeker

The increase in dog ownership has been good for groomers, but the competition to attract furry clients is fierce. So imagine the joy of setting up shop at a salon where the clients are just waiting to be seen. Waggingtons, the all-encompassing doggy day care centre, is looking for an ambitious dog groomer who would like to rent the salon in its premises. The salon has been equipped with top-quality equipment (including high-end table, blaster and professional dryer) and it is ideally situated in a private lane in the heart of Mill Hill.

Given the high volume of dogs who arrive at Waggingtons every day, the groomer will have complete access to a very long list of new and existing clients. If that expert groomer is you, contact Tracie for details. 020 8906 4905 or 07869 153093

JN Junior

The big question

What could you do on World Kindness Day or Mitzvah Day to show someone you care?

Genius Jake says: Did you know there are 30 reasons to celebrate this month?! One for every day! Among them (in no particular order) are Candy Day, Fireworks Night, Hug a Bear Day, Play Monopoly Day and the United States’ Thanksgiving. But my favourite of all is World Kindness Day! Taking place on 13 November, World Kindness Day promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself and to the world. And, on Sunday 20 November, it’s Mitzvah Day, when people all around the world come together to give their time to make a difference to the community, such as litter picking, visiting care homes and writing letters to hospital workers. I have decided that to celebrate World Kindness Day and take part in Mitzvah Day this year, I am going to tidy my room, make a kindness card to give to someone at my school, donate some of my books to children who are less fortunate than me and make some eco-friendly dog toys for rescue centres. There are so many ways to show kindness and even the smallest and simplest of acts can make someone feel incredibly special.

I would like to help those in need and find ways to show people how much I care. For example, I could leave little notes in children’s bags at school with kind words on them, and if I see anybody feeling sad or lonely, I would make an effort to go and play with them. I would also like to make some cakes for a nearby homeless shelter and some lovely cards to deliver to residents in a local care home.

“

Good news for...

... Paddington Bears! Over a thousand Paddington Bears that were left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after she passed away will be sent to children’s charity Barnardo’s, says Buckingham Palace. The soft toys, which were left at royal residences across the UK, have been professionally cleaned and will be donated to the charity, of which the Queen was a patron for more than 30 years before passing the role to Camilla, Queen Consort.

Five things to enjoy this month

Mary Poppins flies out of London

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s award-winning musical Mary Poppins ends in January, so book your seats for the magical story of the world’s favourite nanny, brought to the stage with dazzling songs and special effects. marypoppinsonstage.co.uk

Winter at Hogwarts

Experience a Harry Potter winter wonderland as Hogwarts in the Snow returns. The famous film sets will be transformed and fans can expect to see the Great Hall in a new light. wbstudiotour.co.uk

by Candice Krieger

Winter at Kew

Kew Gardens’ magical light trail begins this month with after-dark festivities in a magical setting including tunnels of light, dancing lakeside reflections and larger-than-life illuminations. kew.org

Beatrix Potter at the V&A

Make your own pine cone bird feeder HANDS ON!

HANDS ON!

HANDS ON!

Do Secret Acts of Kindness

Do Secret Acts of Kindness

Do Secret Acts of Kindness

Want to be like Judah Touro? There are countless ways to make the world a little better — and you can do them on the sly. Here are just a few ideas:

1

Want to be like Judah Touro? There are countless ways to make the world a little better — and you can do them on the sly.

Sweep the kitchen floor when no one’s looking.

Want to be like Judah Touro? There are countless ways to make the world a little better — and you can do them on the sly.

2

Here are just a few ideas:

Here are just a few ideas:

1

3

1

Make a snack for someone who’s had a bad day.

Sweep the kitchen floor when no one’s looking.

Sweep the kitchen floor when no one’s looking.

Set the table before dinner — without being asked. Bonus: Make placecards with kind messages for everyone.

2

3

3

Make a snack for someone who’s had a bad day.

Make a snack for someone who’s had a bad day.

Set the table before dinner — without being asked. Bonus: Make placecards with kind messages for everyone.

Set the table before dinner — without being asked. Bonus: Make placecards with kind messages for everyone.

You can come up with more secret acts of kindness on your own. Maybe you’ll inspire someone else to do something kind, too.

You can come up with more secret acts of kindness on your own. Maybe you’ll inspire someone else to do something kind, too.

You can come up with more secret acts of kindness on your own. Maybe you’ll inspire someone else to do something kind, too.

www.pjlibrary.org

www.pjlibrary.org

www.pjlibrary.org

Explore the life of a favourite children’s author in Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature at the V&A Museum, tracing her journey and learning about her love of the outdoor world. vm.ac.uk

Mitzvah Day

There are so many different ways you can help this Mitzvah Day, giving time to make a difference to the communities around us. For a full list of what is happening and where, visit mitzvahday.org.uk

“

Olivia Dalah, Age six, north London

Just for laughs!

What did the stag say to the fawn when she asked what a mitzvah was? That's a good deed, good deer, my dear

With Ivor Baddiel

Elliot Espinoza / Business

THE MAN WHO RAN FORMER PM’S FITNESS CAMPAIGN

Few would have experienced the kind of pressure at work that Liz Truss did during her short spell as prime minister, but that didn’t stop her finding time to unwind with the help of Jewish fitness guru Elliot Espinoza.

North London-based Espinoza trained Truss during her 44 days at Downing Street, typically for 45 minutes, twice a week. He exclusively tells the Jewish News: “When I initially met her, she said that it was her release – the least stressful part of her day. I believe it was just her time to focus on something else.

“She never spoke about her job. I think she liked the fact I’m not so into politics so she could just switch off for 45 minutes and think about something else.”

Espinoza, who has a strong Jewish clientele, last trained Truss on Monday 24 October, the day Rishi Sunak was announced as her replacement. “It was her final morning – she actually seemed a little more relaxed, and at the end of the session she thanked me for everything and said that she had really enjoyed training with me.”

A former pupil at Immanuel College, Espinoza also trained her special adviser Jason Stein – a close friend and client. “I have been friendly with Jason for many years. We used to work together at a sports event company and have been friendly ever since.

“I was training Jason and Liz Truss asked him about me and then asked if it would be okay to set up a meeting to discuss training her.

“I couldn’t really believe it. I thought it was a wind-up to be honest. The whole experience was totally surreal and a real honour. Having a parking space in Downing Street, and walking in via the front door for a training session with the prime minister is not something I ever even imagined I would experience.” Espinoza says he was more worried about oversleeping than “actually training her”. With a 7:15am session, Espinoza would set his alarm for 5:30am, giving him enough time to get to No 10 from his home in Mill Hill, where his studio is based.

“Once I was there, she was just like any other client. She was a little quiet but always very friendly. The final morning I saw her she discussed the fact she was trying to book flights to Israel. She has been before but wanted to go again.”

What was on her workout playlist? “She had a few requests music-wise. Definitely lots of 80s music, but also Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris.” And as for the exercises, there was a strict ‘no burpee’ rule – that’s a kind of squat thrust used in strength training, for those unfamiliar with the term. “She’s an avid

runner so she wanted to focus more on strength exercises. And she did not like a wallsit. However, they were always involved.”

Passionate about fitness, Espinoza, 35, qualified as a PT in 2013. “At the beginning, like any other start-up business, it was dicult. I spent my days scrolling through social media, messaging anyone and everyone to see if they wanted a trainer. Most people didn’t respond or said no, but I only needed one or two to say yes, and that’s how it all started. From there it’s been word of mouth.”

When Covid hit, he moved all his sessions online. “There was no other option, however it actually worked really well and some clients have stuck to video sessions to this day.” And post-pandemic, he has never been busier, training on average 10-14 clients a day – that’s some 65 sessions a week.

“More people work from home and everyone’s diary seems to be more flexible, so I can fill slots throughout the day.”

Espinoza believes that businesses should be o ering their employees free PT sessions in light of mental health concerns. “So many of us have stressful jobs, and struggle with mental health, so it would be brilliant if companies could get a PT over to train its employees a couple of times a week. It’s definitely something I’d like to get involved with if the opportunity came along. And all of my clients say they feel better after a workout. There’s absolutely no doubt that it would improve productivity. It always clears your mind.”

A member of Mill Hill East Synagogue, Espinoza is married to Sophie. Together they have a young daughter, and with a baby on the way he would “love to see more government support for small businesses when it comes to things like taking paternity leave”.

Perhaps he will get the opportunity to ask Rishi, over a wall-sit.

@espinoza_fitness

Candice

Elliot Espinoza gave Liz Truss her least stressful experiences during her short time at Downing Street – with two 45-minute workout sessions a week, writes Candice Krieger

Elliot Espinoza says of his time at No 10: ‘The whole experience was surreal, and an honour’

Promoted Content / JN Education

EDUCATION

Caring for young minds at school and beyond

In the past three years, the likelihood of young people having a mental health condition has increased by 50 percent. Now, five children in a classroom of 30 are likely to have one. That’s one in six children in England.

Children with mental health problems can have issues at home, in school, and with forming friendships. The di culties can also interfere with a child’s healthy development, causing problems that can continue into adulthood. This is why early diagnosis and treatment is vital.

What to look out for

Every child feels low, anxious or angry at times. These emotions may only become worrying if they last for a long time or seriously a ect their behaviour. Some of the most prominent signs that a child is really struggling are excessive weight change, disturbed sleep patterns, tearfulness, little energy, irritability, increasing social isolation or showing little pleasure in activities they used to enjoy. Challenging behaviour can also be a sign that a child is feeling very anxious and could be their way of communicating that they’re not okay.

For older children, it can sometimes be di cult to recognise what ‘normal’ adolescent behaviour is and what isn’t.

However, depression and anxiety, low self-esteem and confidence, body image issues and disordered eating are all traits to look out for.

What can I do as a parent to help?

Sometimes we can feel helpless when we see our young person struggling, but parents and carers

can make a positive di erence to their child’s mental health. Because children’s mental health su ers the most when they’re su ering in silence, we need to encourage our children to share their worries with us or another adult, such as a relative, family friend or teacher, without judgement or fear. This isn’t always easy and they may

What support is out there for my child and me?

There comes a point when we need to acknowledge that we may need to seek professional help. Jami, the mental health service for the Jewish community, set up its Children and Young Person’s (CYP) service in early 2022 after recognising the desperate

charity o ers services geared specifically to 11–18-year-olds, including tailored one-to-one support to help them manage their symptoms, develop coping strategies, boost their self-esteem and establish structure in their lives. The service also o ers wellbeing support, ongoing assessments to ensure children receive the most appropriate support for their needs, assistance to help them access further support in the community, and support to liaise with their school and other people involved in their life, such as their

But Jami also recognises that mental health issues don’t just a ect the person; it impacts on the whole family. For this reason, the charity supports parents, too, through its carer and family support service.

And it is currently working with a lot mums and dads looking

Jess Green, a Jami carer peer support worker, explains: “The young person may not know exactly what it is that they are feeling and their parents may not have come across this behaviour before, so my aim is to help the parents navigate the right source of support for their

Jess also speaks to families

whose children have suicidal thoughts or who have tried to take their own life. “For these parents, supporting them is about me providing understanding and empathy with what they’re going through,” says Jess. And for many families with nowhere else to turn, that means everything.

● If you need support or are supporting someone who needs help, visit jamiuk.org/ get-support or contact 020 8458 2223

● If you are struggling to cope or need immediate help, contact Shout’s 24/7 crisis text service. Text Jami to 85258 for free, confidential support

● For free, safe and confidential online counselling and emotional wellbeing services for adults, contact Jami Qwell at qwell.io/jami

Content

Feelings come first at Nancy Reuben School

An integral element of the ethos of Nancy Reuben Primary School is that pupil welfare and wellbeing support underpins all aspects of the school to an extremely high standard. “Our senior leadership team and all the sta are proactive every day of the school year in working with children and parents to ensure that every child is well nurtured, supported and absolutely

thriving,” says the head teacher, Anthony Wolfson.

As part of a programme of developing leaders, the school has several pupil Leadership Teams and within each one is a Wellbeing Champions Leadership Team. Guided by the deputy head, these children work with parents and professionals to promote wellbeing in the school. This initiative was launched in September, led by a school parent who is a professional wellbeing coach.

Among other initiatives, the Pupil Leadership Team will be going into classes later this term to share and read wellbeing stories to younger children. The team helps the children to use their initiative to problem-solve and in this way develop resilience and good mental health.

The Nancy Reuben Podcast Series (which has been running for two years on Soundcloud) recently included a series titled I Feel. These pupildesigned podcast recordings about feelings explored topics on mental health, wellbeing and mindfulness.

The school is clear that bullying is never acceptable and whilst one week is devoted to this theme in schools nationally during anti-bullying week, at Nancy Reuben Primary the ethos and expectations of outstanding behaviour are there every day. To reinforce key themes, the school will be running the NSPCC Speak Up Stay Safe programme in a special assembly followed by activities during anti-bullying week.

Nancy Reuben has a playground buddy system. Children learn about their roles in assemblies through the year and they all get a chance to fulfil this role. The playground buddy children wear fluorescent jackets to make them visible to sta and pupils outside.

The school delivers an excellent Relationships and Health Education Programme, which includes topics on mental health, friendships and families. It also holds weekly assemblies where wellbeing and pastoral themes are explored and developed with children.

■ www.nrps.co.uk

Promoted Content / JN Education

The art of happiness at Sacks Morasha

Children’s mental health and wellbeing is are the forefront for primary schools today. We all know that happy children learn best and one of the core values at Sacks Morasha is simcha (happiness).

“One of the foundations for hap piness is ensuring that children feel safe and secure and are encouraged to share how they feel,” says Nikki Hersh, SENDCo (special educational needs and/or disabilities coordi nator) at Sacks Morasha. “Children at the school are encouraged to be open and honest and create strategies to help them when faced with situations beyond their control.”

A wellbeing room at the school provides a safe space away from the classroom. Here, pupils can talk to an adult of their choice, and sit quietly regulating

themselves using techniques such as drawing, using sensory toys and deep breathing. A new multi-pur pose wellbeing room is being built, offering more space and facilities for breakout areas, plus room for specialist therapists to go in for small group or one-to-one sessions.

Once a term every child com pletes a questionnaire that allows them to express how they are feeling with their learning, socially in and out of the playground, how much

they are enjoying school, who they would like to talk to and any concerns they may have. The class teacher and Nikki then discuss a strategy to support those children who need it.

Sacks Morasha has invested in the Heads up Programme, which caters to all ages and Key Stages with relatable scenarios and well-crafted activities. It gives children the tools to tackle issues they will come across often, such as how to help a friend, how to stand up for yourself, dif ferent emotions they might feel and how they can express these.

“The programme educates children to recognise and understand their own varied and often complicated emo tions using a strategy called the Zones of Regulations, which is a straightforward and successful approach,” says Nikki. “It also emphasises the importance of taking care of our body both

physically and mentally and to reach out and ask for help.”

Children who need external sup port are offered art therapy through the charity Arts Therapies for Chil dren. Pupils are given the opportu nity to express themselves without having to verbalise emotions, which some children can find difficult.

Sacks Morasha is among the first

schools to offer group art therapy sessions, helping with areas such as social anxiety, building on friend ships and confidence. The earlier an issue is dealt with the better pre pared the child will be for secondary school and beyond. Sacks Morasha’s goal is that Year 6 pupils leave as emotionally strong 11-year-olds.

■ www.sacksmorasha.co.uk

Children are encouraged to be open and honest

Pupils are given the tools to tackle situations they will encounter often

Education / Promoted Content

Dynamic pastoral care on offer at Immanuel College

Teachers are considered a part of Tier One in mental health care provision under CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), alongside GPs and social workers. Only one in four of the 500,000 referrals made to CAMHS each year will be accepted and sup ported; many are not deemed serious enough. The pandemic has worsened an already strained resource, and the burden returns to schools.

“At Immanuel College we aim to put the mental health of our young people at the forefront of everything,” says Anne Pat tinson, deputy head of pastoral care at the school. “This provides its own difficulties, especially in a setting where academic expec tations are also high, but our well-trained and experienced staff are more than ready for those presented.”

The school’s pastoral team provides a lis tening ear on both an informal and a formal basis, with a dedicated corps of mental health first aid-trained members of staff and an experienced team of school counsel lors. In response to pupil requests, the Sixth Form delivers a Peer Education Programme to Year 7. Meanwhile the Immanuel Family

Programme develops relation ships between the older and younger pupils, empowering those just finding their feet.

The student-led Mind Mat ters committee works hard to raise the profile of key issues, including mental health, facing young people. The basis for all pastoral care at Immanuel is, of course, the Jewish education that pupils receive. This connection to faith helps young people develop a strong sense of purpose and self, leading to an essential resilience that may not be possible to explicitly teach.

Immanuel College has a zero-tolerance policy to bullying, defined as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power, whether in person or online. “In practice, this means that we follow up each incident of which we are aware,” says Anne. “We mediate where feasible, sanction if necessary and aim to support the victim at the same time as re-educating the perpetrator. As adults we want to protect our young people, but adult intervention is not always the best

option, and can sometimes make the situation worse. Providing pupils with the tools to tackle situations on their own is far more effective, especially when one considers that these will be another part of the life lessons that young people will take into their future with them.

“That said, schools are only one part of a wider team supporting each young person. Working in tandem with parents and supporting them to support their children is vital.”

Communications on general topics and evening learning sessions are a part of this process, as are meetings with individual parents and pupils to plan future pathways. Engaging with external partners such as medical professionals, social services and the police is crucial in some cases and provides a fully rounded and supportive solution.

Anne says: “One of the most important lessons to teach young people is that it is okay to have emotions, to face difficult situ ations and to ask for help if the challenge becomes too great to manage.”

■ www.immanuelcollege.co.uk

Camp Simcha affords a new kind of care

Camp Simcha has been visiting schools to raise awareness of its work supporting families who have a child with a serious mental health condition.

While the charity has historically focused on children with physical illnesses, two years ago it expanded its remit to mental health, providing pastoral support to families – and working with other mental health charities in the community to complement existing services.

“Once a child has a network of clinical support in place, we will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to help the rest of the family,” explains Daniel Gillis, Camp Simcha’s deputy chief executive and head of services.

“Many of the issues, such as the impact on siblings, is the same for mental health as it is for physical. The fact that the child has cancer or an eating disorder… the impact of having an ill sibling can be much the same.”

The charity’s social work manager, Leat Preston, knows the pandemic has impacted on children’s mental health through her conversations with schools, as well as referrals.

“Some young people thrived but others who are more in need of a routine and social structure … that was all gone and they didn’t know how to find themselves,” she says.

“A lot of children went on social media and got engrossed in that world and picked up all sorts of things and then they lost their confidence and the skills to socialise. If they already had a mental health di culty that potentially made it all harder. We are raising awareness

with schools about what we do for families in these and other situations. It’s helping them to think about which of their families might benefit from that support – and they can suggest parents get in touch.

“What we have found is that in some

schools, towards the end of last summer, there was a big increase of mental health concerns around a lot of Year 8 (now Year 9) children, as they were the group that had to transition to secondary school during lockdown.

“We also have a lot of young people in our caseload who just sat their GCSEs this summer. That was really hard.”

If the family decides to self-refer, Camp Simcha carries out an assessment.

“We talk to parents about what’s going on and try to understand who is supporting the family and how it has impacted on them,” said Leat. “Then we think about whether Camp Simcha is going to be able to make a meaningful di erence. We aim to make the assessment a reflective therapeutic space so people feel heard, validated and understood.

“We haven’t got a magic wand but what we have seen over the last couple of years is that we can make a big di erence to family life with our support.” That might be practical help, someone for the parents to talk to or therapeutic activities for siblings.

“It’s all about the Camp Simcha way,” adds Leat. “It’s the crisis food that goes in when they are having a tough day or a care package when a parent isn’t coping. It’s about that love and constant support.”

■ If you or someone you know needs Camp Simcha’s support, please call 020 8202 9297 in the strictest confidence or email office@campsimcha.org.uk

Careers education at Work Avenue

Thinking about what career to pursue while still at school not only helps young people start to envision their future but can also help guide their educational journey by showing what specific skills and qualifications are required. Quality careers advice introduces them to all manner of potential career paths that suit their talents and aspirations, as well as facilitating the transition from school into university, college and/or employment.

Time constraints, staff workload and a lack of formal careers training for teachers often mean that schools aren’t able to provide the level of careers guidance programme they would like. A study earlier this year by educational charity The Sutton Trust found huge disparities in careers advice provision, particularly between state and private schools, and between wealthy and deprived areas. More than a third of secondary school leavers told the Trust that they do not feel confident about their next steps in education and training. This is where Work Avenue comes in.

“As the Jewish community’s leading employment and business support organisation, we help

more than 2,000 people every year find work, change careers and start or grow a business,” says Emma May, director of employment and operations at the charity.

The process begins with the Matrix-accredited schools programme, led by employment adviser Hannah Dahan.

A qualified careers adviser, with extensive experience in education settings, Hannah works with schools and pupils across the Jewish community and beyond. She holds one-to-one sessions with GCSE students and school leavers about their career plans –helping them work out what steps they need to take and advising on everything from attaining relevant work experience to potential future university courses.

Hannah also delivers group sessions, supporting each school’s careers strategy and facilitating students’ journeys towards work.

These sessions are interactive, applying learning points through group discussion and exercises, and cover a diverse range of workrelated topics, including writing a CV, transferable skills, interviews, networking and behaviour in the workplace.

Exercises include helping pupils to identify their skills and

attributes, find their development areas and match their personality type to potential careers.

Hannah said: “It’s very rewarding watching young people, who may never really have thought about careers before, start to identify what they may like to do, what strengths they

have to fit different jobs and how they can equip themselves to achieve their aspirations.”

The employment adviser adds: “Often we find pupils are so engaged by our sessions that they carry on working through their lunch break and then keep in touch with Work Avenue

to further develop and pursue their goals.”

■ To find out more about the Work Avenue schools programme, please visittheworkavenue.org.uk/ schools or email hannah@ theworkavenue.org.uk

The charity’s remit now includes mental health, says deputy chief executive Daniel Gillis (inset)

Careers adviser Hannah Dahan says it’s rewarding to see young adults start to identify what they might like to do

Education / Promoted Content

Volunteering makes a positive ImpACT

Great importance is placed on teens’ personal development beyond academic achievement, with an emphasis on co-curricular and volunteering an essential part of this. Volunteering inspires self-belief and positive mental wellbeing, while broadening horizons and encouraging the development of social interactions and communication skills. It also gives a sense of purpose.

Project ImpACT has been at the forefront of inspiring and empowering teens to volunteer and make an impact in the Jewish community and beyond since launching in 2018. Its groundbreaking social action and volunteering initiatives have filled a pressing need within the Jewish community to o er meaningful opportunities for a large number of teens to support charities in a hands-on and practical way.

Last year, more than 600 teens from 28 schools volunteered across ImpACT’s social action initiatives, in support of 25 charities. Project ImpACT draws teens from across the community, with many attending secular schools. Through volunteering they get to meet other Jewish teens and build lasting friendships.

Rafaela, an ImpACT volunteer, adds: “It is a meaningful experience knowing we are helping others. It feels good to give to others and strengthen the community while having fun with friends and meeting new people.”

The programmes encourage and enable young people to give their time to take part in

charitable activities. They hear from representatives of the charities to better understand why they are doing the volunteering and who they are supporting. ImpACT teens have heard from a former Royal Marine talking about PTSD and from mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin.

They teenagers learn about social responsibility in an interactive way, gaining a sense of purpose and responsibility as well as transferable life skills. They speak openly about how volunteering and helping others benefit their mental health, feeling supported by those around them, which improves their confidence and resilience. “Participating in Project

ImpACT is inspiring. It makes me feel like I am part of something bigger than myself, which is a good feeling,” says Dan, who goes to JFS.

“Volunteering can be life-changing and we are proud to be shaping the next generation of young leaders who want to play an active role in the community and beyond,” says Chayil Fehler, founder and director of Project ImpACT. “Our focus is on participants feeling empowered to make a di erence. Through our programme, teens realise that even at their age, they can get involved and make a di erence. I believe volunteering should be a part of every teenager’s journey into adulthood.”

■ www.projectimpact.org.uk

Project ImpACT inspires self-belief and helps teens to see they can make a difference

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

RABBI BENJY MORGAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JLE

As a nation we have just appointed our third prime minister and third chancellor in three months, and we have a new King. On top of this we face great uncertainty with rising interest rates, high inflation and a war in Ukraine that is a ecting the whole world.

It is normal that uncertainty will create an element of anxiety, and therefore the levels of worry we will all feel about the unknown are normal. But what is the best way to deal with that? What does the Torah have to say about this?

When Abraham is asked by God in this week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, to take a journey from all that he knew, he is not told where he was going, just

“to the place that I show you”. Why does Hashem have to add this level of uncertainty to what was already a huge upheaval for Abraham and his family? You can imagine the conversation on the donkey: “Daddy, how long till we get there?” “I don’t know, kids – we might never get there!”

In many ways, the wandering that began with Abraham never reached an end point, and for thousands of years we remained the wandering Jews.

However, maybe this was the point of it all, because coming out from Rosh Hashanah our tradition tells us that there is a plan for each and every one of us. It is not that we always know it or can see it. But the knowledge that we must be brave and fearless even in the unknown has perhaps been the greatest

source of our strength and resilience as Jews.

Being human is an art, and living bravely is one of the best ways to master it. Living bold, brave and fearless lives doesn’t always end as predicted, but what is predictable is that the potential for full achievement is so much more likely when courage leads behaviour rather than when fear does. There may be the occasional two steps back, but even with two steps back, those who live bravely will still be ahead of where they would have been otherwise.

Living bravely allows for full expansion and full engagement. The beautiful thing about living bravely is that it’s in all of us. In every person is the means to reach his or her potential. Sometimes it gets lost, and at other times it gets trapped under the

rubble of life, but it’s always there.

So, just like Abraham, what’s being asked of us throughout our lives is to keep calm and carry on with full faith that there is a plan. In fact,

it’s the journey itself which is the purpose of it all – this is what builds us and makes us who we are.

We are here to tell the tale, and that is a story we can tell the world.

10 Golders Green Road London NW11 8LL

Cafe Nero

In our thought-provoking series, rabbis, rebbetzins and educators relate the week’s parsha to the way we live today

bravely

Facing uncertainty: Jeremy Hunt is our third chancellor in three months

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI REBECCA BIRK FINCHLEY PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE

calling

Kanye

Esther would be horrified to read the recent comments from Kanye West. But surely she wouldn’t be surprised. Esther – she of the harem, the humble origins and the wildly positive way she found to exist in the diaspora – understood the fragility of di erence and how it can be distorted. She lived it.

Esther would be grateful, I’m certain, for Jonathan Freedland’s play Jews. In Their Own Words. had it been produced and o ered in her Shushan palace rather than in today’s Royal Court theatre.

But, right now, she is horrified and not a little terrified by the rapper’s tweets and the hate he’s unleashed. West’s social media following was/is tens of millions, so when he says something it matters because a lot of people hear it. The current

Jewish population of the world is 15 million, which is half of West’s following on Twitter alone.

What West said has had far-reaching e ects, as we might have anticipated. There were signs above a highway in Jacksonville Florida reading “Honk if you know he’s right about the Jews” and “End Jewish supremacy over America”. At a football game in Jacksonsville, Florida, a ticker tape showed the words: “Kanye is right…”, calling up memories of the Nuremberg laws in public places.

Antisemitism is the oldest hate and yet wherever it is expressed it only heralds more hate for more people. The trope of Jews controlling the world with power and wealth is so tired that it would be risible were it not so frightening. And it was no doubt familiar for our Queen Esther.

She rather liked the joke used for Purim, Chanukah and beyond – they tried to kill us, they failed, now let’s eat – but

she, as we do today, saw something more mercurial at play, more dangerous, more nuanced. Esther managed public help from the King and used the influence she had to save her people. Who wouldn’t do that?

We are so often caught between a rock and a hard place. Do we allow such abuse and leave it ‘out there’, or stand up and demand protection and action, at the risk of being called out for wielding control?

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York, was invited on to the CBS channel to discuss antisemitic quotes. Writer Yair Rosenberg’s explanation of Kanye’s recent tweets illustrates how the conspiracy theory is self-a rming: the antisemite will insist that Jews control and silence those who speak out against them. Then, if they are punished for their bigotry, they point to the penalty as proof.

Esther would recognise these as worrying times.

Antiques Buyers

A stimulating series where our progressive rabbis consider how Biblical figures might act when faced with 21st-century issues

Kanye West’s antisemitic bile has far-reaching effects

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

Ask our

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

This week: Making an Israeli will, financial settlements after divorce and freeing up computer capacity...

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY

Dear Carolyn

I own a property in Israel, although I live in the UK where the remainder of my assets are. Do I need an Israeli will as well as an English one?

Peter

Dear Peter

The question of whether you need a will in each jurisdiction is becoming more common as more people buy homes overseas. It is always advisable to check with a local lawyer as some countries will require a local will, others will accept a foreign will and some jurisdictions have specific inheritance rules governing the division of local assets. The general rule is that inheritance rules for immovable assets (property) follow the law of the land in which they stand.

Although it is not obligatory to have an Israeli will it is certainly preferable and will make the administration of your Israeli estate much easier and quicker if there is one in place. It is important that an Israeli will co-exists with an English one and restricts its application to your assets in Israel. An Israeli lawyer should be made aware of any English will that is in place and, if possible, they should be made aware of the date the will was signed. If the lawyer doesn’t know about the existence of a valid English will, an Israeli will could unintentionally revoke the English one, creating more problems than it solves.

VANESSA LLOYD PLATT DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR LLOYD PLATT & COMPANY SOLICITORS

Dear Vanessa

How easy is it to reopen a financial settlement?

Francesca

Dear Francesca

While it is always possible to “apply” to vary a maintenance provision, they may not always be granted. For example, if you apply say a year after

the settlement and there has been no discernible movement on either side’s income, it will likely be refused. However, if the party receiving maintenance falls ill or loses their employment with little prospect of further work, the courts will most certainly vary upwards the maintenance provision.

Regarding capital provisions, the courts won’t vary a settlement to allow a bigger home than envisaged, or grant more capital if the husband has chosen to keep company shares and they have fallen. To reopen capital, the applicant must show there has been an unexpected or significant change of circumstances soon after the settlement.

If either person is shown to have lied or misrepresented or been fraudulent in their disclosure to the extent a di erent order would have been agreed or imposed, the court can reopen. This is a huge hurdle to overcome and specialist advice should always be sought or else risk an order for costs being made against you.

If a company valuation was wholly misleading or the details of a person’s capital values have been hidden, the court can, with the above criteria, look at the new evidence and reopen the case. The moral is that lying parties may find the closure they had manipulated becomes very open.

IAN GREEN IT SPECIALIST MAN ON A BIKE

Dear Ian

I use an online drive to store documents and files. My family and I use several machines to access these files since we need them wherever we are. I have now started to get warnings that I am getting close to my 100GB storage limit, but there only seems to be about 40GB of documents and files in there. I have even totalled up the size of all of the individual folders and

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I still cannot find where all my space is being used up. Please help.

Philip

Dear Philip

It sounds like you have got a good set-up to enable you and your family to have all of your files no matter where you are. It also gives you the security of a back-up copy in the cloud.

What you are experiencing is not uncommon. Online drives have the benefit of keeping previous versions, or snapshots, of your data so you can go back to a copy from up to 30 days ago.

It will also have a recycle bin for when you delete files. One downside is that when you are working on files in the online drive, temporary copies are made and deleted as you

work. The online drive sees this as a deleted file and puts it into the recycle bin. This is probably where your storage space is taken up.

You should log in to the online storage and look at the Trash folder as I am sure this has filled up with these files.You can also remove any old snapshots that are no longer required.

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Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Qualifications:

• Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s.

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

• Specialist in supply of diamonds to the public at trade prices.

JEWELLERY CAVE LTD 020 8446 8538 www.jewellerycave.co.uk jonathan@jewellerycave.co.uk

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

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

STEPHEN MORRIS

Qualifications:

• Managing Director of Stephen Morris Shipping Ltd.

• 45 years’ experience in shipping household and personal effects.

• Chosen mover for four royal families and three UK prime ministers.

• Offering proven quality specialist advice for moving anyone across the world or round the corner.

STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD 020 8832 2222 www.shipsms.co.uk stephen@shipsms.co.uk

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION

EMMA GROSS Qualifications:

• Specialist in claims of unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination.

• Negotiate out-of-court settlements and handle complex tribunal cases.

• HR services including drafting contracts and policies, advising on disciplinaries, grievances and providing staff training.

• Contributor to The Times HRMagazine and other titles.

SPENCER WEST LLP 020 7925 8080 www.spencer-west.com emma.gross@spencer-west.com

VACANT PROPERTY SECURITY

STUART WOOLGAR Qualifications:

• CEO of London’s largest guardian company with more than 20 years’ experience

• Well-known and highly regarded British security industry expert.

• Specialists in securing and protecting empty commercial and residential properties.

• Clients include small private landlords to major national property companies and managing agents, as well as those in the public sector.

GLOBAL GUARDIANS MANAGEMENT 020 3818 9100 www.global-guardians.co.uk info@global-guardians.co.uk

COMMERCIAL LAWYER

ADAM LOVATT Qualifications:

• Lawyer with more than 11 years of experience working in the legal sector. Specialist in corporate, commercial, media, sport and start-ups.

• Master’s degree in Intellectual Property Law from the University of London.

• Non-Executive Director of various companies advising on all governance matters.

LOVATT LEGAL LIMITED 07753 802 804 adam@lovattlegal.co.uk

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

SUE CIPIN

Qualifications:

• 20 years+ hands-on experience, leading JDA in significant growth and development.

• Understanding of the impact of deafness on people, including children, at all stages.

• Extensive services for people affected by hearing loss/tinnitus.

• Technology room with expert advice on and facilities to try out the latest equipment. Hearing aid advice, support and maintenance.

JEWISH DEAF ASSOCIATION 020 8446 0502 www.jdeaf.org.uk mail@jdeaf.org.uk

LOUISE LEACH Qualifications:

• Professional choreographer qualified in dance, drama and Zumba (ZIN,

JEWELLER

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

JACOB

•

•

•

RICHDALE

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST

LEE SHMUEL GOLDFARB

Qualifications:

• Hands-on service, with full and personalised support for international transfers.

• Get the most out of your

when purchasing your first

ADAM SHELLEY

Qualifications:

Professional

ACCOUNTANT

• FCCA chartered certified accountant.

• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services.

• Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses.

• Specialises in charities; Personal tax returns.

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

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

IT SPECIALIST

LISA WIMBORNE

Qualifications:

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

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.

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

IAN GREEN Qualifications:

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

Email: sales@jewishnews.co.uk

• UK leader in financial exchange

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

ISRAELI ACCOUNTANT

St

Place and Hargreaves Lansdown with industry-beating Trustpilot score.

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

• More than 18 years’ experience.

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

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!

HARRIS HOROVIZ CONSULTING & TAX LTD +972-3-6123153 / + 972-54-6449398 leon@h2cat.com

ALIYAH ADVISER

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.

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

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.

NEFESH B’NEFESH 0800 075 7200 www.nbn.org.il dov@nbn.org.il

DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR

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,

• Frequent broadcaster

LLOYD PLATT & COMPANY SOLICITORS 020 8343 2998 www.divorcesolicitors.com lloydplatt@divorcesolicitors.com

TRENNER

Qualifications:

•

•

TELECOMS SPECIALIST

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

ADWCONNECT 0208 089 1111 www.adwconnect.com hello@adwconnect.com

BISHNAT2021

Celebrating the Joy of Jewish Music

For

They

Shulem

Orthodox singer

Music’s Decca Gold

-Haaretz

People

-Graham

loving memory of Brian

Shulem Lemmer

Avromi Freilich

Alby Chait

ACROSS

1 Abstains (7)

5 King whose touch turned all to gold (5)

8 Noisy scuffle or fight (5)

WORDSEARCH

The listed things to do with fireworks 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.

HV LY LF RE TT UB

9 Improvised West Indian folk song (7)

10 Unexpectedly, abruptly (8)

11 White German wine (4)

13 Duplicate parts (6)

15 Graham ___, Our Man in Havana author (6)

18 Irritating sensation (4)

19 Was financially prudent (8)

22 Small holes on the uppers of shoes (7)

23 In the bronze position (5)

24 Samples (5)

25 Sleeveless jumper (4,3)

DOWN

1 Sullies (7)

2 Burn with hot water (5)

3 Joined by fusing (8)

4 Reaping tool (6)

5 Crushing machine (4)

6 Strongly disapprove of (7)

7 Artist’s garment (5)

12 East Sussex seaside resort (8)

14 BBC Radio 4’s farming family (7)

16 Turned out to be (5,2)

17 Brownish-red colour (6)

18 Passive (5)

20 Contort (5)

21 Gets married to (4)

CODEWORD

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.

Fun, games and prizes

SUDOKU

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

BATTERY BLINKER BUTTERFLY CANNONADE COMET

CONE

CRACKLE EXPLOSIVE FIRECRACKER FIREWORK

FLARE

Last issue’s solutions

ACROSS: 1 Errors, 4 Dazzle, 9 Deviant, 10 Cable, 11 Slim, 12 Reshape, 14 Eyelid, 16 Advert, 19 Fake fur, 21 Good, 23 Extra, 24 Proviso, 25 Styles, 26 Cygnet.

DOWN: 1 Eddy, 2 Revolve, 3 Realm, 5 Accused, 6 Zebra, 7 Eleventh, 8 Stork, 13 Selfless, 15 Inflate, 17 Emotion, 18 Erupt, 20 Kitty, 21 Glory, 22 Sort.

Sudoku

SUGURU

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.

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

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

Codeword

Wordsearch

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CACAO CATERING & EVENTS

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ME LOVE EVENTS – FUN CASINO LONDON

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OUR WEDDING RABBI OY VEY STUDIO

PATIENT HEALTH – PRIVATE HEALTH SPECIALISTS PROP LTD

RULO FILMS

SABABA SILHOUETTE LONDON SIGNED SEALED & DELIVERED

SOPHIE WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY

THE GREAT BRITISH

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THE PURE SHOWBAND WITH DJ

HARRY PORTMAN

THREE PIECE EVENTS

TOTALLY JOY

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WA CARR & SON EVENT HIRE WAFFLE ME UP

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