1330 - 31st August 2023

Chief’s ten-ure!

Flood fears ignored at spot where couple died

Liverpool residents had warned for years about ‘nightmare’ bridge where Philip and Elaine Marco perished in their car

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

Tributes have been paid to a “devoted” couple who died when their car became trapped under a bridge on a flooded road in Liverpool, amid questions about why more hadn’t been done to make the route safer.

Philip Marco, 77, and his wife Elaine, 75, were discovered by police in their vehicle after it was submerged in floodwater in the Mossley Hill area of the city last Saturday evening.

The “kind and generous” couple

– who for many years ran the last kosher catering firm in Liverpool and had four children and 10 grandchildren – were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

It has since emerged that residents had complaining for years after repeated problems with flooding in the same spot where the Marcos’ Mercedes Class 180 became trapped.

Dame Louise Ellman, a former MP in nearby Liverpool Riverside, paid her own respects to the Marcos, who she described as a “charming couple” who were “well-respected and proud of their Jewish identity”.

Ellman confirmed to Jewish News that she had heard about concerns

raised in the past at flooding on the stretch of road where the couple died.

The former Labour Friends of Israel chair said: “It’s clear that this was not a new issue. It is terrible that it has caused a tragic loss of life.”

Another resident, Jenna Serrano, told the Guardian newspaper: “It’s just awful what happened to that couple and the road is flooding all the time. It’s just a nightmare trying to get from A to B.”

She said she had long feared that a tragedy could happen in the area, pointing to the poor lighting and sloping road, as well as the heavy rain

Continued on page 6

The car belonging to ‘devoted’ couple Philip and Elaine Marco

Boycott Chikli’s UK visit, communal leaders urged

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

Communal leaders are being urged to decline an invitation to meet controversial Israeli diaspora a airs minister Amichai Chikli ahead of an expected visit to the UK next week.

In a letter to the Board of the Deputies and other main communal organisations, the antiNetanyahu Defend Israeli Democracy UK group claims Chikli’s request to meet Jewish leaders here “is an attempt to legitimise the far-right government in which he serves”.

Jewish News understands along with requested meetings with organisations including the Board, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust, Chikli will take part in other pre-arranged events designed to attract positive publicity, including a reception at the UK Israeli embassy.

It is understood protests have been arranged to coincide with Chiki’s visit by campaigners opposing the increasingly far-right Netanyahu government.

As diaspora minister, Chikli is responsible

for managing relations with Jews abroad, including tackling antisemitism. Attended a Tisha B’Av event in Israel last month, he was greeted with cries of “shame, shame” from

Frankfurt. London. Manchester. The dawn of the

Jewish Enlightenment

anti-judicial overhaul protesters, reflecting his history of making inflammatory comments in relation to antisemitism and in a succession of remarks about the LGBT+ community.

In their letter, supporters of the Defend Israeli Democracy UK group of Israelis living in the UK suggest some of Chikli’s past comments “if used by a non-Jew would be seen as perpetuating antisemitic tropes”.

The letter writers have been at the forefront of the campaign against Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul and also accuse Chikli of showing “contempt towards progressive Jews in the diaspora and LGBT+ people”.

In February, Board president Marie van der Zyl and chief executive Michael Wegier confirmed they had a “positive, full, and frank discussion” with Chikli in Jerusalem.

They add if the meetings in the UK do go ahead “while we think this would be a mistake, we request that you challenge him in the

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strongest possible terms” over his past record of inflammatory statements.

The letter continues: “We hope he returns from his visit to the UK well aware that 80 percent of British Jews, according to JPR research, oppose his government.”

Chikli has previously openly defended those who criticise the Jewish philanthropist George Soros, despite claims of antisemitic intent.

He tweeted earlier this year: “Criticism of Soros – who finances the most hostile organisations to the Jewish people and the state of Israel is anything but antisemitism, quite the opposite!”

Chikli has also targeted the liberal American organisation J Street as being “hostile” to Israel and was pictured making a face at an anti-judicial-reform march in New York attended by hundreds of Jews.

This led to claims from a senior US government o cial Chikli is “out of touch with the US Jewish diaspora.”

Chikli has also described the Palestinian Authority as a “neo-Nazi entity” and said “alternatives to its existence” should be sought.

On the gay community, in a Facebook post, written before he entered politics, he said he believed the “LGBT flag is no longer the flag of the gay community” but rather that of “a new nation-religion” which believes “Zionism is the enemy of humanity”.

Sharon Shochat of Defend Israeli Democracy UK told Jewish News: “We are in the middle of a fight for saving Israel’s democracy from the extremist government Chikli is coming here to represent.

“Our hope is he will leave the UK with a vivid understanding most members of the Jewish community bitterly oppose this government and are horrified at the grievous damage Chikli and his accomplices are wreaking upon the Jewish state.”

Saudis in fresh aid o er to Palestinians

Saudi Arabia is o ering to resume aid to the Palestinian Authority in what appears to be a bid to appease Ramallah amid normalisation talks with Israel, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, writes Jotam Confino.

The report cites Saudi and former Palestinian o cials “familiar with the discussions” between Riyadh and the Palestinian Authority.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly o ered to resume the aid when Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas visited Riyadh in April.

The financial aid would, however, be contingent on the Palestinian Authority reigning in terror groups in the West Bank and restoring its control over the territory, according to the o cials who spoke to the WSJ

Bin Salman apparently also promised Abbas any deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel would not hurt the Palestinians’ hope of establishing their own state.

Meanwhile, several foreign media outlets have reported Saudi Arabia is demanding significant concessions from Israel toward the Palestinians if a normalisation deal is to be signed between the two countries.

Israel, meanwhile, has downplayed this element of a potential deal, with finance minister Bezalel Smotrich refusing outright any concessions will be made to the Palestinians.

Foreign minister Eli Cohen told Israel National News on Tuesday he believed an agreement with Saudi Arabia “can happen, it is within reach, within the next six months”.

Figure of controversy: Diaspora affairs minister Amichai Chikli

Israel protests / Suspect bailed / News

Israeli protesters to spend week boosting UK support

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

The UK wing of the Defend Israeli Democracy movement is staging a Community Engagement Week aimed at bolstering understanding and support for those protesting against Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul.

Kicking-o on 4 September, Defend Israeli Democracy UK’s leadership has organised a series of events with speakers including historian Yuval Noah Harari, author Daniel Gordis and Canadian-Israeli journalist Matti Friedman.

Organisers hope to help those in the UK community hesitant to join a protest movement against the farright Israeli government to understand its aims, while encouraging further commitment from those UK Jews who feel compelled to speak out.

The week-long programme –supported by UK organisations including the Masorti, Reform and Liberal movements as well as the Jewish Labour Movement, New Israel Fund, Yachad and Abraham Initiatives – includes two in-person events, in London and in Brighton, along with three webinars.

Harari will be the keynote speaker at a Democracy Rally in central London on 10 September.

Millions have taken part in weekly protesters across Israel against the country’s drift towards authoritarianism. In the UK, Defend Israeli Democracy has attracted impressive turnouts to its own protests.

In September, the Israeli Supreme Court will hear appeals in the cases of three anti-democratic laws that have passed, and the rulings could throw Israel into a constitutional crisis.

Sharon Shochat, the founder of

Defend Israeli Democracy UK, said: “This week is intended to provide a platform for community engagement.

“Our Israeli Democracy Ambassadors Programme will also be launched during this week and I

CEMETERY SUSPECT

A 41-year-old man has been released on bail until November in connection with the smashing headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Kent.

The burial ground of of Chatham Memorial Synagogue in Rochester was targeted in the latest act of vandalism to rock the community at some time between 15 and 18 August, police believe. Damage, estimated to be in the region of £20,000 was discovered at the grounds last Friday by shocked members of the soul.

In a statement, Kent Police confirmed: “A 41-year-old local man has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and taken into custody.

“Investigators are continuing to appeal for witnesses and anyone with information to contact them.”

In a further act of vandalism, gra ti was daubed on the doors of the shell, and a CCTV camera was also broken.

The shul has been repeatedly targeted in recent years. Trustee Dr Dalia Halpern-Matthews said the cemetery had been attacked five times since 2013.

 Anyone with information concerning the shul’s vandalisation should call 01634 792209, quoting crime reference 46/152042/23

• Editorial comment, page 16

‘HOSTED EVENTS TIED TO IRGC’

The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into a Iranian-linked British foundation which has hosted hardline Islamic clerics, writes Lee Harpin.

Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust, which claims to “relieve poverty and sickness of persons who profess the Islamic religion in the UK”, is alleged to have staged events linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The Kanoon Towhid, or Centre for Mono-

theism, which it owns, is accused of glorifying Ayatollah Khomeini. A social media page run by the trust reportedly refers to the “Zionist vampire”. It is situated in a former Methodist church in Hammersmith, west London.

Compliance cases are opened by the commission to determine whether a statutory investigation is required, which could lead to the removal of trustees, or in the most serious cases the shutting down of the trust.

hope many will join in one or all of the activities.”

The 4 September webinar with the journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, Gordis and Friedman is co-hosted by the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem protest movement, and is for Dias-

pora Jews. It is titled, ‘Time to take a stand: Judicial reform or regime coup?’

Klein Halevi said: “Matti, Danny and I come from the heart of the Israeli mainstream. We’ve devoted ourselves for decades to defending Israel in the media and on campuses.

“We invite British Jews to join this webinar, where we’ll explain why this moment is unique and why it requires a di erent kind of response from the Diaspora.”

Other events included a session titled Behind the legislation: reasons and motivations for the reforms in Israel.

An in-person event on 7 September will be held at Finchley Reform Synagogue with speakers including Dr Sheldon Stone and Michal Neta.

 For details about the week and to register for events visit www.defendisraeluk.org

Brian’s mum Bertie loved being around people. That’s why she used to say that volunteering for Jewish Care was the happiest time of her later life.

Before Bertie passed away, she never got a chance to amend her Will so she could leave something to Jewish Care. Brian has since told us that he has included Jewish Care in his Will on her behalf; “I don’t want to leave it until it’s too late, like Mum. I’m doing this for her”. With a gift in your Will to Jewish Care, you can make sure that future generations of our community get the care they need, when they need it most.

For more information about leaving a gift in your Will and our free Will Writing Service, please call Sarit on 020 8922 2819, email legacyteam@jcare.org or visit jewishcare.org/legacy

“Jewish Care meant everything to my mum, Bertie. That’s why I’m leaving them a gift in my Will”.

Brian, Legacy Pledger

A recent pro-democracy protest by London-based Israelis

Smashed headstones in Rochester

FOUNDATION

Chief’s ten-ure!

Friday marks the end of Ephraim Mirvis’ first decade as Chief Rabbi. Jenni Frazer looks back on a hectic and historic 10 years

Ten years ago this week, on 1 September, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis was installed as Britain’s 11th Chief Rabbi in a ceremony at St John’s Wood Synagogue attended by Prince Charles.

During his decade in o ce, the Chief Rabbi — knighted in the 2023 New Year’s honours list — has had challenges and achievements, some internal and domestic, some hitting the national and occasionally international headlines. Here, Jewish News looks at some of Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis’s highs and lows.

If one word could be applied to his general

approach it might well be “inclusivity”, as he sought from the very outset to bring in diverse members of the Jewish community, whether religiously observant or not.

His first act was an ostensibly controversial one, to attend the 2013 Limmud end-of year conference, boycotted by Orthodox rabbis and — tellingly — avoided while he was Chief Rabbi by his predecessor, Jonathan Sacks. But Chief Rabbi Mirvis made it clear within days of his appointment that he would attend, despite criticism from some quarters that an Orthodox presence would give unwarranted credibility to

the non-Orthodox. His attendance at Limmud, almost certainly supported by large parts of the modern Orthodox community, paved the way for other Orthodox rabbis to go to the crosscommunal event.

It would be remarkable if any Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue drew unqualified admiration from the non-Orthodox rabbinate, though Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand once said that they “each approached each other with a twinkle in the eye”.

Just the same, after Limmud, Chief Rabbi Mirvis turned his attention to the issue of how

women operated and were treated in the community. At the beginning of his tenure, this led to an expansion of his decision to appoint Britain’s first female halachic adviser, Yoetzet Halacha, in his previous role as minister of Finchley Synagogue. Once in o ce as chief rabbi, he made expanding the roles of women a priority, and in 2016 he launched the Ma’ayan programme, training women as advisers on Jewish law, particularly in the area of family purity, and as high calibre adult educators.

In June 2021, however, this progressive approach ran into trouble, as the Chief Rabbi

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Clockwise from top left: With the King and receiving his knighthood, at his ordination in September 2013, celebrating Shabbat UK and his landmark address to Limmud

refused to allow Dr Lindsay Taylor-Guthartz to continue teaching at the London School of Jewish Studies after she qualified as “rabba” and received recognition from New York’s Yeshivat Maharat.

He said she had “stepped beyond the boundaries of mainstream Orthodoxy”, amid a communal row in which hundreds of people signed adverts in Jewish newspapers urging him to revoke his decision. Eventually, she was allowed to resume her post, having agreed not to use the title “rabba” at LSJS.

One of Sir Ephraim’s particular passions — undoubtedly inherited from his parents and his South African upbringing — is that of achrayut, or social responsibility. He has expressed that in various ways, not least in his support for the annual Mitzvah Day event, and the launch of his own Ben Azzai programme, which takes a curated group of the country’s most talented Jewish students to learn about issues such as the climate crisis, international development, global public health and the refugee crisis.

Pre-pandemic, students went to countries such as India and Ghana; this year, in partnership with World Jewish Relief, the programme

will include eight days in Rwanda, with the intention that the students will become ambassadors for these issues in their home communities on their return to the UK.

In 2015, Chief Rabbi Mirvis led a delegation of rabbis to a refugee camp on the northern border of Greece and Macedonia. The trip succeeded in raising the profile in the Jewish community of the plight of refugees escaping from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Eritrea. He has also highlighted the issue of refugees from Ukraine after the Russian invasion last year.

Again, with inclusivity as his mantra, the Chief Rabbi astonished some sectors of the community in 2018 when he published the first guide for Orthodox Jewish schools to improve the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pupils. The guide, produced together with the Jewish LGBT campaign group Keshet UK, was viewed as “a game-changer”.

In his introduction to the guide, Chief Rabbi Mirvis wrote: “Our children need to know that at school, at home and in the community, they will be loved and protected regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.” There was, he said, “an urgent need for authoritative guidance which

recognises the reality that there are young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in our schools to whom we have a duty of care”.

The following year, he made an intervention into national politics with an article in the Times on the eve of the general election. Speaking of “a new poison” which had engulfed the Labour Party, he wrote: “It is not my place to tell any person how they should vote. I regret being in this situation at all. I simply pose the question: What will the result of this election say about the moral compass of our country?

When December 12 arrives, I ask every person to vote with their conscience. Be in no doubt, the very soul of our nation is at stake.”

Noting that British Jews were gripped by a justified anxiety about the prospect of a Corbyn government, he wrote: “How complicit in prejudice would a leader of Her Majesty’s opposition have to be to be considered unfit for o ce?

“Would associations with those who have incited hatred against Jews be enough? Would describing as ‘friends’ those who endorse the murder of Jews be enough? It seems not.”

Perhaps one of the Chief Rabbi’s most challenging times came in 2017 after comments

made about homosexuality and aspects of Jewish law by the senior rabbi of the Sephardi community, Rabbi Joseph Dweck.

The ensuing row — mainly from rabbis on the right of the religious spectrum —caused uproar but the Chief Rabbi stepped in to diffuse the issue, during which the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef — known as the Rishon l’Zion — all but called for Rabbi Dweck’s head. Chief Rabbi Mirvis convened a review committee, comprising Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu, Dayan Menachem Gelley and Dayan Abraham David. Additionally, in the interests of what the Chief Rabbi’s O ce called “natural justice”, the QC Professor Julian Lew attended the deliberations. At the time the chief rabbi said he had been “appalled by some of the conduct we have witnessed in our community” and spoke of “poisonous invective” from both sides of the controversy. He “implored” the community “to resist the urge to sow further discord and division. Now, more than ever, we must stand together.”

A solution was reached in which Rabbi Dweck kept his job but had to stand down as a dayan of the Sephardi Beth Din.

The pandemic presented another di cult situation for the Chief Rabbi. The nature of the Jewish community, in which social gatherings play a big part, meant that decisions had to be taken about closure of synagogues — a ruling that came from the Chief Rabbi’s O ce before the government ban. The knock-on e ect on the life cycle of the Jewish community led to simmering controversy as some continued to

It’s

flout regulations. More than 1,000 British Jews died from Covid-19 and the Chief Rabbi himself contracted the virus in early 2023.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis has long been involved in interfaith work. In 2016 he and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, launched the In Good Faith initiative in which more than 70 rabbis and priests gathered for a day of dialogue.

The networking has proved an important

outlet for relations between the Jewish community and the Church of England; while in 2015, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the document about relations between the Catholic Church and Jews, Chief Rabbi Mirvis flew to Rome to meet Pope Francis.

More recently — and particularly in the wake of the Abraham Accords — the Chief Rabbi has engaged with senior Muslim clerics,

meeting the Saudi secretary-general of the Muslim World League in London, Sheikh alIssah. Such work has borne fruit, as after his London meeting with Rabbi Mirvis, Sheikh-alIssah spoke in Arabic against Holocaust denial and antisemitism.

In 2017, he became the first Chief Rabbi to host an iftar (a fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan) in his home for Muslim friends; and the first to make an o cial visit to an Arab state when he attended the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace in 2022.

Marking his first decade in o ce, Chief Rabbi Mirvis was knighted in January this year. The warm friendship shown to him by the then Prince Charles — the first royal prince to attend the installation of a Chief Rabbi — was handsomely echoed when Sir Ephraim and Lady Mirvis spent the Friday night before the 6 May coronation at Clarence House.

A kosher caterer was on hand and every aspect of Shabbat was thought through by the Palace sta , culminating in a special blessing that was said to King Charles by faith leaders — but without the use of a Shabbat-breaking microphone.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis prepares to fire the starting gun at the Maccabi GB Fun Run and makes a historic visit to the United Arab Emirates last year

The Jewish community is mourning the loss of one of its greatest philanthropists with the death last week of Clive Marks, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

He died peacefully at the age of 92, surrounded by his family.

As administrator of the former Ashdown Trust, initiated by property magnate Lord Ashdown, Clive oversaw £50m of donations between 1977 and 2012.

His charitable work included saving the London School of Jewish Studies (formerly Jews’ College) from bankruptcy and donating generously to the Reform movement. Through the education network World ORT, he funded schools in Latin America, and established the UJIA-Ashdown Fellowship, which helps students to study in Israel and the United States during their gap years.

Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies, described Marks as a ‘mensch’, adding: “Together with his wife Adrienne, they did not just arrange the funding of Jewish education, but they engaged with people in the field with a wisdom and grace that was beautiful to expe-

rience. The Lord Ashdown Charitable Settlement made an enormous contribution to Jewish education in the UK and Clive and Adrienne were at its heart.

“Clive was smart and witty with an extraordinary knowledge of a vast array of subjects. He would often attend New North London Synagogue in recent years before he became too frail and we would continue discussing Jewish education and community until we were dragged apart. I will miss him enormously.”

World ORT paid tribute to Marks, who was also chair of the London College of Music for 15 years and a lecturer for more than 40 years on music in the Third Reich.

The college described him as “one of the driving forces behind our world-leading music and the Holocaust website”. Sadler Johnson, the website project co-ordinator told Jewish News that Clive was “elderly but young at heart”.

In a World ORT tribute, he added: “Clive became a dear friend in our 20 years of involvement with the project but had been a friend of ORT much longer. Professionally an

accountant, his passion was music, with an encyclopaedic memory of composers, musicians and orchestras.

“Clive gave lectures at the Royal Festival Hall and at the United Nations in New York and was hoping to do the same for music and the Holocaust. As well as his music expertise and connections, Clive brought significant funding to the project and we will all sorely miss him and his ongoing contribution to ORT’s work globally.”

Marks was also a life president of Norwood, a vice-chairman of the Council for Christians and Jews and a co-founder of the Cambodia Trust, which supports victims of anti-personnel land mines. Mark Mishon, former ORT UK chair, said: “Clive was a mensch and a great friend to ORT and to all who knew him. He was always there for us and his vision was matched by his generosity. ”

A member of Hampstead synagogue, he was awarded the Coventry International Peace Prize in 1999. In 2006, he was appointed OBE for his charity work and dedication to improving Christian and Jewish relations. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Great educational philanthropist and mensch Clive Marks mourned Bridge fears before deaths PARAGLIDER DAD DIES IN SWISS ALPS

Continued on page 6 in Liverpool last weekend. Lisa Gore, who also lives in the Mossley Hill area, said she had lodged complaints with the council about the repeated flooding issues under the bridge.

“The council sent their condolences but really, they need to do something about it,” she said.

Jewish News has approached local Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Kemp for comment.

Rabbi Avremi Kievman, from Chabad Lubavitch in Liverpool, led the tributes to the “kind and generous couple” who he said were “personal friends”.

He described the Marcos as “dedicated and devoted grandparents” parents and grandparents, adding:

“It is a terrible loss that will leave a mark in the whole community.”

A statement from the Marco family said: “We are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Elaine and Philip Marco. The family are arriving overseas from America and Australia to mourn their loss.

“They were due to celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary next week and our only comfort is knowing that they were together to the very end.”

Further messages were posted on social media. One read: “Terrible tragedy with the passing of our dear friends, Philip & Elaine Marco. May Hashem heal the torn hearts of their children and grandchildren A huge loss to our community.”

Police said that they received a

report at about 9.20pm on Saturday about the safety of two people in the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool. They were found by emergency services trapped in their car and were pronounced dead in hospital.

Amateur footage filmed in the area appeared to show water gushing on to the road, which dips under a bridge.

Marcos Catering had established itself in Liverpool in 1990 as one of the city’s few remaining kosher outlets. But in 2010 it relinquished its kashrut licence, with director Philip saying: “I don’t think there will be anyone taking over kosher catering in Liverpool — the community isn’t big enough. Our biggest business has been in Manchester.”

A young Charedi man from Manchester has been killed in a paragliding accident in the Swiss Alps.

Avrohom Moshe Rabinowitz, 30, went missing during a family holiday in Switzerland.

Local authorities responded to reports of an accident with an extensive search of the area lasting several hours before locating his parachute and later his body.

The Israeli consul in the Swiss city of Bern was in contact with Rabinowitz’s family, including his wife and young

son, to provide support following the accident. Rabinowitz was born in Israel to Rivka and Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Dov Rabinowitz and studied at the Kamenetz yeshiva in Jerusalem before later establishing roots in Manchester.

He was the grandson of the Biala-Lugano rebbe, Rabbi Bezalel Simcha Rabinowicz, who is the senior rabbi of the European Board of Torah Scholars. The tragedy occurred days before Rabinowitz’s sister was due to be married in Jerusalem.

CHAI GAVE US OUR MUMMY BACK

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I just didn’t know what to do. I had my surgery in Israel as both mine and my husband’s families live there. Then I had a big decision to make - where would I have my treatment? How could I uproot my husband and girls? But equally, how would I get through my chemotherapy here without our families’ support? Then my oncologist told me about Chai. They have been amazing – I truly believe there is nothing like it in the world.

Being able to rely on Chai’s all-encompassing support gave me the confi dence to come home to my husband and girls.

Thanks to Chai, we’re together as a family again”

Clive Marks, 92, expert on music in the Third Reich

are

Jewish schools celebrated impressive scores as more than half a million students across the country received their GCSE results, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

JCoSS in Barnet saw 81 percent of students achieving Grade 5 and above (considered a ‘strong pass’) and 91 percent Grades 9-4 (equivalent to an A*-C on the previous system). Across all results, 45 percent were at Grade 7 (A) or better, with 28 percent at 8 or 9 – the highest grades possible.

With more than a quarter of all students achieving at least seven GCSEs at Grade 7 (A) or better, the school gave honorary mentions to outstanding individual performances from Pai Lustigman, Katie Barel, Amy Freedland, Tamara Brunert, Adam Hershkorn, Abi Caplan, Dana Thomas, Joe Rudling, Leona Lewis, Samuel Gatty, Noah Oakley, Michal Paz and Noah Danker – each awarded between six and nine GCSEs at ‘9’, the top grade.

At JFS in Kenton, students’ average points score increased since last year and at 65.7 was nearly half a grade higher than in 2019, with 55 percent of all grades 7+ and 20 percent ‘9’, with 83 percent of all students achieving 5+ in English and maths and 91 percent scoring 4+.

Immanuel College in Bushey saw grades soar beyond UK averages, with the number of results at the top grade of ‘9’ outstripping the national average by 431 percent.

The private school said its top marks “outperform both independent and selective grammar schools’ averages by significant margins”, with 65.4 percent top grades (9-7), more than three times the national average of 21.6 percent, outstripping it by 202 percent.

Of the 90 students at Hasmonean High School for Girls in Mill Hill, 54 percent achieved the top tier of grades (between a ‘7’ and a ‘9’), and 91 percent between a ‘4’ and ‘9’. Yavneh College in Borehamwood saw 41 percent of students achieving grades between ‘7’ and ‘9’; 77 percent above a level ‘5’, 90 percent above level ‘4’ and 23 percent an ‘8’ or ‘9’. Honorary mentions go to to Asher Friedman, Eden Jacobson, Nathan Cohen, Natana Sabel, Eve Cameron, and Sadie Shear.

King Solomon High School in Ilford, meanwhile, reported almost 80 percent of students hitting grades between ‘4’ and ‘9’.

The school’s top performers included Daniella Vajushi, Mithun Emmanuel and Aberham Hunegnain.

Thousands of Jewish students excelled in A-levels in the first year since England returned to pre-pandemic grading.

JCoSS announced a “truly exceptional” set of public examination results for Year 13 students, with 52 percent of grades at A*/A (or equivalent). At A level, 77 percent hit Grade B or above.

In vocational subjects, 28 percent of grades were distinction* and 71 percent distinction or better.

In addition, seven students at JCoSS secured their places

at Oxbridge with head teacher Dr Melanie Lee saying she was “thrilled and privileged” to be announcing such results.

Yavneh College also had reason to celebrate, with 50 percent of all grades at A*-A.

Executive head teacher Spencer Lewis said: “We are once again delighted with these post-16 results, both at A-level and in our vocational course in business studies.

“The students have worked so hard and should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.”

At JFS, head teacher Dr David Moody said 60 percent of the examination results were at grades A or A*.

At Hasmonean High School for Boys, 43 percent of students attained grades of A* or A with the school saying a “significant number” had outperformed their target grades.

Immanuel College – the UK’s only Jewish independent 4-to-18 school – achieved 57 percent top A*/A grades, with the “vast majority” of students proceeding to their first choice of university.

GCSE results day at King Solomon High School

WJR to help Ukrainian refugees get into work GOVE VISITS JLE

The government has awarded a major contract to World Jewish Relief to support Ukrainian refugees, writes Lee Harpin.

The scheme, awarded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, will enable the charity and British Council to offer up to 10,000 Ukrainians, who have fled war in their country, English language and employment support courses.

The aim is to help them to access the job market and achieve their ambitions while in the UK. The programme is free and delivered virtually.

It comprises 10 weeks of daily English classes run by the British Council and 12 weeks of employment support with a dedicated World Jewish Relief employment adviser to assist with CV writing, job applications, interview prep, skills

make it easier for Ukrainians to live independent lives in the UK. To deliver the programme, it will scale up its existing Specialist Training and Employment Programme (STEP),

in the UK every year on their journey into employment.

WJR chief executive Paul Anticoni said: “I am especially proud World Jewish Relief, has been appointed to deliver

“It’s an endorsement of the unique talent and expertise we have within the team at World Jewish Relief as well as the close working relationships we have built with our partners on the ground in Ukraine over the last 30 years.

“This appointment would also not have been possible without the unfailing support of Ukrainians in their time of need by the wider UK Jewish community.”

Housing and homelessness minister Felicity Buchan said Ukrainian Independence Day last week was a reminder of the need to continue to support Ukraine. The new courses added to wider government support to help Ukrainians find work and settle into UK communities, she added.

World Jewish Relief was recognised in 2022 with a charity award for STEP and

Michael Gove has paid a visit to the Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE) hub in Golders Green.

The secretary of state for housing, and communities engaged with the trustees as well as students and young professionals associated with the centre, understanding the JLE’s role in connecting young Jews with their heritage and the Jewish community. Gove was particularly interested in the centre’s extension and upgrade plans. Following his tour of the JLE hub, Michael Gove had lunch with Rabbi Benjy Morgan, the CEO of JLE, and other patrons and educational directors of the organisation.

1ST CLASS FROM DARKEST PERU

Paddington Bear appears in a new set of Royal Mail stamps, in the 80th anniversary year of the Kindertransport. The marmalade-loving bear who arrives at the station in west London from Peru was inspired by Kindertransport children

Liberating creativity

WJR patron King Charles addresses a meeting of the charity

News / Census stats / Edinburgh ‘slur’ / Meals boost

Almost three in ten flats, terraces and semi-detached Jewish homes in some areas of England are officially considered overcrowded, according to new figures.

Some 2.8 percent of households in England where all members identified as Jewish have fewer bedrooms than required – a percentage well below the national average of 4.4 percent.

For other religions the figure is far greater with 8.8 percent for Sikh homes, 9.1 percent for Hindu

and a significantly higher 22.5 percent for Muslim-only homes.

The data is the latest to be released from the England and Wales census, in March 2021.

It shows the proportion of flats considered overcrowded was highest in the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham (22.7 percent), Newham (21.8 percent) and Redbridge (20.0 percent), with Slough, Berkshire, at 20.8 percent.

There were 38 local authorities where at least one in ten flats met

the overcrowded criteria on the day of the census, 28 of them in the capital and all in south-east England except for Leicester (16 percent).

London boroughs also came first for overcrowding in terraced housing, with Newham (18.6 percent) and Barking & Dagenham (13.6 percent) the highest.

A greater geographical spread at the top of this list has Leicester (13.2 percent), Birmingham (11.9 percent), Oldham (10.6 percent) and Manchester (9.4 percent).

A household is classed as being overcrowded if it has fewer bedrooms than required, according to the O ce for National Statistics (ONS) which published the data.

To determine if a household has enough bedrooms, residents are

divided into types, each of which should have their own room – for example, an adult couple, any other adult aged 21 or over, two males aged ten to 20 (sharing), two females aged ten to 20 (sharing) or two children aged nine and under.

2.8% of Jewish homes shown as overcrowded ‘ANTISEMITISM’ AT FRINGE FREE SCHOOL MEALS BOOST

A Jewish comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe has claimed a famous agent for well-known acts subjected him to antisemitic slurs after he performed his latest show.

BAFTA-nominated funnyman Bennett Arron, who has been described as a ‘Welsh Seinfeld’, claimed on social media the unnamed agent screamed at him in a bar “that Jews exaggerate antisemitism and other minority groups have real justification for complaint but not Jews”.

Arron said his family had been present to watch him perform his new show, Loser Tweeting afterwards, he said the incident was a “bit upsetting” as it was in front of the family after they had come to celebrate his success at the Fringe.

Arron said the agent also went on to scream that Jews should never have been given Israel and that Jews smeared Jeremy Corbyn.

He added: “It really spoilt what had been a wonderful festival.”

An estimated 4,300 Jewish children at state-funded primary schools in London will receive free school meals once the new term begins, City Hall has announced.

Mayor Sadiq Khan announced an unprecedented £135 million funding for the scheme in response to the cost of living crisis.

As Jewish New s revealed previously, the mayor responded to the increased cost of providing kosher meals by raising funding amounting to £3.50 per meal to allow Key

Stage 2 pupils – those aged seven to 11 – at 25 Jewish schools to have free meals.

The additional funding of around £4 million represents an 85p increase on the £2.65p offered to all boroughs for nonkosher lunches for Key Stage Two pupils.

The latest development follows polling from YouGov that shows close to half (48 percent) of parents or guardians with children aged between five and 11 are buying less food and essentials.

A residential street in Stamford Hill

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Cruise passengers at migrant rescue

A Jewish couple from Hertfordshire have described the dramatic moment their luxury cruise was suddenly halted to rescue more than 200 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The luxury 1072-ft Celebrity

Beyond liner, with 3,950 passengers on board, which was sailing from Sicily, suddenly changed course to help the coastguard already on site.

The 12-day trip was due to visit Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi and Athens before docking in Naples. Passengers Melvyn and Vivi-

enne Ansher left Port Civitavecchia near Rome on Monday.

Melvyn told Jewish News: “We awoke on Tuesday to a message from the captain telling us were part of a rescue operation for 200 migrants whose boat had broken down in the middle of the sea.

“Our role was to act as a wind shield for the migrant boat to help ensure it did not capsize. Coastguards took the migrants on board and transferred them to our ship. It’s not possible to tell where they were heading, but I imagine mainland Europe. I

don’t know where they came from. It was pitiful because we could hear them screaming and shouting.”

The couple believe the plan is to transport the migrants to the next stop, the island of Santorini, where they will be taken off the ship.

Melvyn added: “I’ve been told they are sent back to their own countries but I’m not sure. The passengers can’t be angry. There were 200 lives at risk in the middle of the sea. It’s likely they paid a lot of money to people traffickers to seek asylum abroad. I’ve spoken to a member of the crew who

told me that when the ship is in the Caribbean it is not unusual for them to rescue Cubans in boats fleeing Cuba and trying to get to the US.”

European Border and Coast Guard Agency FrontEx estimates the number of irregular border crossings reported by national authorities

increased to 54,000 in the first three months of this year; a 26 percent rise on the same period in 2022. Routes across the central Mediterranean account for more than half of all irregular border crossings into the EU. Celebrity Cruises was unable to provide extra information.

FZY sends 22 youth volunteers to Ghana

Youth organisation FZY has sent 22 young volunteers from London, Manchester and Essex on a 10-day cultural and leadership programme in Winneba, south Ghana.

‘Netina Ghana’ is a collaborative initiative with the Jewish Agency for Israel’s ethical volunteering programme,Project TEN.

Participants have recently completed ‘Hadracha Aleph’, FZY’s leadership course for students in school Year 12. The cohort are at a school in Winneba, engaging in interactive and educational activities with the local children, ranging from storytelling, arts and crafts and sports sessions. Additionally, the volunteers

have observed Shabbat in the village of Butre, where they experienced more Ghanaian culture in conjunction with taking a leading role with facilitating services and experiences in preparation to be FZY camp leaders next summer.

Volunteer Sophie Radford, from London, said: “The Netina programme with FZY has truly

been the most eye-opening and inspirational experience.

“I came here to run activities and teach the children, but I am leaving having learnt more than I could have ever imagined.

“The warmth and intelligence of the people that we have met will be something that I will always keep close to my heart.”

Celebrity Beyond was diverted to provide a wind shield for a small boat

The young volunteers are working with children

Taking the biscuit – Man vs Food kosher challenge

A kosher restaurant has gone viral on social media after a YouTube influencer became the latest person to fail its Man vs Food challenge.

Celia’s Kitchen in Prestwich, Manchester, launched its 30-minute competition in May. It’s free to enter, but contenders who fail have to pay the £60 cost of the meal.

The extreme platter includes four bee urgers, three big (hot) ‘dogs’, a 300g butterfly chicken breast, spiced chicken, one kilo of French fries, a bowl of coleslaw plus the obligatory giant grilled tomato.

Manager Mark Clyne told Jewish News he believes Celia’s is the only kosher restaurant in the world to o er the challenge: “It’s just over 3kg of food in half an hour; you’ve got to be a serious eater to do it.”

Clyne, his restaurant team and a crowd of onlookers recently triumphed over competitive eater Adam Moran, a YouTuber with more than three million subscribers to his channel @BeardMeetsFood. To date, 1.6 million viewers have watched his attempt.

“He nearly did it,” says Clyne, who timed Moran in his attempt. “The challenges are good fun and they draw a crowd.”

There is, he adds, a strategic way to take on the competition successfully. “You have to plan how you eat the meal before you start,” he explains.

“It can be done. For example, the big ‘dogs’ are served in baguettes. That takes a lot of chewing, so my tip is to dunk the bread in water.”

To date, the restaurant’s wall of fame remains empty as all six would-be challengers have failed the test.

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For a no-obligation and confidential consultation, and to find out more about supporting JNF UK’s vital work in Israel, please get in touch.

SUNDAY DATE FOR THE FUN RUNNERS

The clock is ticking in the run-up to the third sporting event organised by the Faith & Belief Forum and Maccabi GB.

Media partnered with Jewish News, the London Interfaith Fun Run takes place this Sunday, 3 September, at the StoneX Stadium in north London. The free-to-attend annual event sees hundreds of runners and spectators from diverse faith and belief communities come together. Thirty seven charities have signed up, alongside performances from around the world including Jewish folk dancing, Kundalini yoga music, the London International Gospel Choir and a Kirtan mantra music meditation.

There will be a range of five di erent food trucks on site with di erent cuisines, mindfulness sessions delivered by the Mindfulness Network for People of Colour, an inflatables zone, arts and crafts.

Medieval York study

Fascinating research into the city of York’s medieval Jewish community has uncovered new evidence that suggests some of its leading citizens were also some of the most important figures in England.

The massacre of the city’s Jews in 1190 remains one of the most horrendous examples of the mistreatment of the community in this country’s history. But new research, conducted by the University of York’s Heritage360 Streetlife project has produced evidence

of a community that went on to thrive post-1190 during medieval times.

The homes of two individuals, Leo Episcopus and his son-in-law Aaron of York, have been found on the west side of York’s Coney Street where a branch of Boots is currently located. The study suggests Leo and Aaron served as chief representatives of the whole Jewish community of England and in the 1230s Aaron was considered the richest man in the country.

Adam Moran attempting the challenge

New law threat to Iraqi shul

Efforts to save the last surviving synagogue in Mosul, northern Iraq, have reached an impasse due to a brutal law by the country’s government, writes Jotam Confino.

Mosul includes the site of the biblical Nineveh and was home to around 6,000 Jews.

Built in 1902, the Sassoon shul fell into near-ruin after the US invaded Iraq in 2003 and is now used primarily as a rubbish dump and its mikveh as a barn for horses.

Former Iraq Jews, now scattered across the world, are attempting to reconstruct the building and preserve its historic heritage with funds from the Swiss-based International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.

Stopping them is an Iraqi law of May 2022 which punishes by death or life imprisonment any Iraqi inside or outside the country who engages with “Zionists” or Masons.

Iraq-born Edwin Shuker, a prominent member of the Iraqi Jewish community in the UK and vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, visited the synagogue at great risk in 2019 and this July.

He describes Mosul as “difficult and dangerous for all” with checkpoints manned by different factions and access

to the synagogue difficult because there is no official authority in charge of the area.

While he believes the synagogue’s sacred books were removed by the Jewish community at the time, he says there is stalemate, which can be lifted only by pressure on the Iraqi government to repeal the “brutal law” of 2022.

The Sassoon synagogue. Pic: Edwin Shuker

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A Jerusalem hospital has become the first in the world to perform a complex spine surgery utilising augmented reality (AR) combined with robotic technology, writes Jotam Confino.

Dr Cezar J Mizrahi, of Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, told Jewish News he decided to apply AR, an interactive experience that combines the real world and computergenerated content, with the robotic technology when a 25-year-old patient was admitted with a complex spine injury.

The patient, at risk of paralysis and other severe neurological damage, was the “perfect case”, Dr Mizrahi said.

“This kind of injury would be extremely complicated to treat without the technology we used. I had absolutely no view so I fully trusted AR and robotics,” the surgeon added.

The combination of AR and robotics allowed Dr Mizrahi to per-

form a precise and minimal invasive procedure.

“It made my life very easy. I would even say a child could do a surgery with all this technology. The AR and robotics helped with positioning, trajectory and planning,” he said.

Dr Mizrahi, a spinal neurosurgeon from the Spine Surgery Unit and Department of Neurosurgery, said the technology did not speed up the operation, but rather made it more “e ective”.

He said the successful procedure

gave him hope it would allow for the technology to become an integral part of spine surgeries in future, but such things took time to be fully implemented.

“It’s a very slow process. If I had to speculate I would say that in about ten years it will be standard to use AR and robotics for very complex cases,” he added. Although the technology is currently used only to perform spine surgeries, Dr Mizrahi said he could see it being used for injuries on the entire body in the future. Did he think robots would soon be replacing surgeons entirely?

“We are very far from that,” the surgeon replied. “I don’t think I am likely to see that in my career – and I’m only 37.”

The patient reported feeling good and was able to walk without any assistance immediately after the surgery. He is expected to be released from the hospital in the coming days.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ministers to seek approval before engaging in “secret diplomatic meetings”, following a huge diplomatic spat between Israel and Libya, writes Jotam Confino.

Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement foreign minister Eli Cohen had met his Libyan counterpart, Najla Mangoush, in Rome.

The statement quoted Cohen as saying the meeting was “historic” and had discussed “the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jews, which includes renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries” in Libya.

Riots broke out in Tripoli shortly after, with angry Libyans burning

Israeli flags and tyres on the streets, while the Libyan foreign ministry downplayed the incident.

Jerusalem leads world in spine op LIBYA ROW OVER TALKS

“What happened in Rome was an uno cial and unprepared casual meeting, during a meeting with the Italian foreign minister, and it did not include any discussions, agreements or consultations,” a statement said.

It added that Libya “outright rejects” normalisation with Israel and Tripoli was fully committed to the “national constants on the issues of the Arab and Islamic nations, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause.” Mangoush later reportedly fled Libya to Turkey and was removed from o ce a day later.

SILVER ‘JOY’ FOR MARHU

Israel enjoyed unprecedented success at the World Athletics Championship after picking up a silver medal in the men’s marathon. In a performance Israeli president Isaac Herzog said brought “joy to the country”, Ethiopianborn Marhu Teferi, 31, came second in the race in Budapest on Sunday.

Dr Mizrahi performing the complex spine surgery

Attack on history and memory

Sinking to the depths of desecrating the final resting place of individuals within a cemetery demands a level of malevolence beyond comprehension.

Last week’s wanton destruction of headstones at the Chatham Memorial Synagogue’s burial ground in Kent was profoundly upsetting.

Such acts do not just harm the Jewish community. They erode the very fabric of our collective humanity. The fact that the burial ground has been targeted multiple times over the years speaks to a disturbing pattern of hatred that has not been adequately confronted. This was not just an attack on property. it was an attack on memory, history and identity.

The arrest of a 41-year-old man on suspicion of causing criminal damage offers the chance of justice (let’s hope the police have found the culprit) but it will not erase the pain caused by an act of heinous inhumanity.

Israel’s policy on Ukraine

Your columnist Jenni Frazer thinks she knows what is in Israel’s strategic interest more than both this and the previous Israeli government regarding Ukraine – a topic on which they display rare unity (17 August).

That Iran is waging a proxy war on Israel using terror groups based across the border in Syria seems to have passed her by.

The skies above Syria are controlled by Russia, which turns a blind eye to Israel’s defensive sorties across the border.

It is essential therefore for the safety of Israel’s citizens to keep Russia on side and thus Israel cannot supply Ukraine with offensive weapons.

AREA C FACTS

Fraser Michaelson doubts there is massive illegal Palestinian construction in Area C of the West Bank. Let him visit and see for himself, including the huge State of Palestine signs, replete with EU logo.

Israel owes Ukraine less than nothing given the Ukrainians’ consistent record of voting against Israel at the UN.

Nevertheless, Israel supplied Ukraine with a fully equipped and staffed field hospital early in the war and has given humanitarian aid and welcomed thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish refugees freely.

As Ms Frazer herself reports, despite Israel agreeing to supply Ukraine with a radar defence system, Ukraine is threatening to remove Israel from the Ukraine Defence Contact Group of 54 countries supporting it militarily, which would be “shameful”. I think not.

James R Windsor, Ilford

PREMATURE PHIL PRAISE

I don’t know where all this outpouring of praise and support for Phil Rosenberg is coming from but it’s quite unseemly.

Walters louisa@jewishnews.co.uk

Editor editorial@jewishnews.co.uk Design Manager Diane Spender 020 8148 9697 diane@jewishnews.co.uk Production Designer Daniel Elias daniel@jewishnews.co.uk Production Designer Sarah Rothberg sarah@jewishnews.co.uk

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

Shabbat comes in Friday night 7.33pm Shabbat goes out Saturday night 8.34pm

Correction:

Sales Manager Marc Jacobs 020 8148 9701 marc@jewishnews.co.uk

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Operations

He seems not to know the Palestinians enjoy complete autonomy there to run their own lives, nor does he explain why there is no Palestinian construction in Areas A and B, where the vast majority live. The answer is obvious!

Gerry Solomons, HIghgate

AJEX archives is seeking the location of the grave of Lt Martin Solomon, RNVR, DSC and Bar, MBE who died in 1956 in Madrid but whose remains were returned to the UK. Please email martin.sugarman@yahoo.co.uk

Martin Sugarman, AJEX

It’s still 2023 and the election to succeed the excellent Marie van der Zyl is nine months away, so I’m not entirely sure why Phil or his supporters want to make it a long and tedious campaign.

I’m sure Phil will do a perfectly adequate job as an honorary officer if he makes it official that he’s standing, if he gains enough support to get on to the ballot paper, if he gets enough votes, if, if, if...

Joe Millis Deputy for Bromley Reform Synagogue

UNIMAGINABLE GRIEF

Rebbetzen Dr Hadassah Fromson’s Making Sense Of The Sedra column in the issue of 17 August was incorrectly illustrated with a picture of the musician Kanye West. This image was inappropriate given the nature of the subject discussed in the article. The rebbetzen also made no mention of Kanye West in the column she submitted. We apologise for our error.

I refer to the article Chelsea imposes life ban on fan who called Jews ‘vermin’ (10 August). Well done Chelsea FC for this action. They may not win this season’s Premier League but they are surely leaders in combating antisemitism.

J D Milaric, By email

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I write with a heavy heart to express my profound sadness on learning about the tragic incident involving Elaine and Philip Marco. Their untimely deaths due to their car being submerged in floodwaters in the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool have left our community here in Liverpool and beyond in a state of mourning.

Philip Marco’s significant

contributions as a respected kosher caterer, and his role as a director of Marcos Catering since 1990, have not only served our culinary needs but also embedded his legacy within the fabric of our community.

This devastating loss has left friends, family and the entire community grappling with unimaginable grief.

M K Lewis, Liverpool

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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.

Sedra: Ki Tavo

A box for Jewish ethnicity will be helpful and healthy

AMANDA BOWMAN VICE-PRESIDENT THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES

Imagine you’re sitting in a hospital waiting room and have been asked to fill out a form which, among other questions, asks for your ethnicity. If you’re a British Jew you may find yourself pausing when you reach this question. I have.

I am British, certainly – and would be seen as white by most passers-by. But I don’t see myself as simply ‘white British’ in the same way I imagine many white non-Jews in this country do. So which box do I tick? ‘White other’? But I am British, so if I tick another box am I e ectively suggesting I do not entirely belong here? It’s a di cult question. I know some people who shrug their shoulders and tick the former, while others end up ticking the latter. I even know of some who fluctuate between the two.

You may think the question is moot: after all, surely people can put ‘white British’ for the ethnicity question and tick ‘Judaism’ for the religion question. But it is not so simple. For

one thing, beyond the Census, most questionnaires include only an ethnicity question, not a religious one. There are also a significant number of people who neither observe many of the tenets of Judaism nor see themselves as religious in the slightest, but nonetheless consider themselves proud Jews – ethnically Jewish. And that’s the dilemma.

I believe ‘Jewish’ should be an explicit ethnicity option, and I am not alone. In 2021, the Board of Deputies held a special meeting to discuss whether we should advocate for a change in the ONS data capture to include ‘Jewish’ within the detail of the ethnicity classifications. The response was overwhelmingly in favour of change, for several reasons: not least that recognising UK Jews as an ethnicity would contribute to improved public services, better representation and a more accurate reflection of the nation’s demographic landscape. As a result, we encouraged those completing the 2021 Census to consider writing ‘Jewish’ under ethnicity and almost 68,000 people reported their Jewish ethnicity, more than twice the number from ten years earlier.

How exactly, you may ask, would including

Jewish as an ethnicity help to deliver improved public services and better representation?

First, the importance of ethnicity recognition became evident with Covid-19. Data on the British Jewish community, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic, was not aligned with that of the general population. We also know Jewish people are statistically more likely to be at risk of certain genetic conditions. More accurate data on the health profile of the UK Jewish community can guide the development of targeted preventive care initiatives. Healthcare providers can develop educational campaigns and screening programmes to detect and manage genetic conditions more prevalent among Jewish people.

Second, recognising UK Jews as an ethnicity in public ‘records’ sends a clear message the UK values and respects our unique identity. I also believe it would facilitate better monitoring and response by the police and CPS. We are of course aware our community is not monolithic: we have a variety of traditions, customs, and backgrounds, each contributing to the vibrant mosaic of British Jewry. Recognising us as an ethnicity acknowledges this diversity and

encourages a more comprehensive approach to understanding our experiences. This can help to dispel stereotypes, foster intercultural dialogue and promote a stronger sense of belonging among UK Jews and broader society.

That said, changing the ONS data classifications to include Jews as an ethnicity would bring some challenges. Careful consideration must be given to definitions, criteria – and potential unintended consequences.

Changes need to align with the principles of accuracy and representation while also upholding the values of inclusivity and unity: ensuring, for example, people with links to another minority group do not feel they are being made to choose between key elements of their identity. However, rather than seeing such issues as obstacles, I see them as opportunities.

To find the best solution, I want open dialogue, collaboration and enhanced understanding between our community’s leaders and its members, and between policymakers and academics.

Ultimately, when any of us is sitting in that waiting room with that questionnaire, we all want to know it recognises who we are.

Hard to be a Jew, harder to be a Jewish demographer

Afew weeks ago, the JPR/Institute for Jewish Policy Research published a report on antisemitism in the UK in 2023 and included questions on how British Jews regard Israel’s leaders. The subtext was clearly the crisis about ‘judicial reform’. Close to 4,000 respondents replied, with 79 percent of those who gave an opinion disapproving of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Yet most Jewish organisations, including those representing central orthodoxy, ignored it. While the JPR survey attracted a lot of attention in the Israeli press, sections of the Jewish media downplayed it. This contrasted with coverage in the weeks that followed about whether Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in the Netflix film about Leonard Bernstein was an act of antisemitism. The JPR survey revealed an uncomfortable truth — one many wished to avoid.

Yet demographic surveys challenge both

leadership and its policies because they reveal what the ordinary Jew in the street believes. As far back as 1978, a Board of Deputies survey of the Redbridge community indicated over 60 percent of Jewish parents opposed Jewish day schools, citing segregation as their main objection. In the 1980s, City University’s Steve Miller’s survey of 1,400 Jewish students included the comment that ‘a harsh conclusion would be that Jewish secondary schooling reinforces the mechanical aspects of Judaism at the expense of the intellectual and spiritual dimensions’.

In this country, figures such as Barry Kosmin, Marlena Schmool and Stanley Waterman in the past — and today the JPR’s Jon Boyd and his colleagues — have demonstrated the opinions of the community are not always the same as those of Jewish leaders. For example, several surveys conducted by both the JPR and City University (in which I was involved) have suggested 75 percent of British Jews disapprove of the settlement drive on the West Bank. Yet this fact too has been buried — even in discussions with government ministers.

Demographic surveys about diaspora attitudes toward Israel began in the early 1980s on behalf of the American Jewish Committee. In 1988, 45 percent of US Jews were troubled by the policies of the then Israel government, led by the Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir. A large majority also supported the right of Jewish critics to air their views.

Over 30 years later, it is clear US Jews have maintained their dovish inclinations — and the rest of the English-speaking diaspora have indicated similar views about successive Netanyahu governments.

In one sense, the silence on the settlement drive points to a lack of accountability toward a broad community opinion while accepting the fact diaspora Jewish organisations are voluntary bodies.

Moreover such voluntary bodies are dependent on well-meaning funders with views rather than independent funding from the British state. The Board of Deputies, led by its outgoing president, Marie van der Zyl, has clearly taken note of many recent demographic surveys and has attempted to implement the findings expressed in them.

On a recent visit to Israel, she pointedly and publicly met the leader of the Opposition, Yair Lapid, a vigorous opponent of ‘judicial reform’ — and not Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

Demographic surveys also distinguish between support for the Israel government and support for the state. While an overwhelming majority of British Jews identify with Israel and do not disparage the label of Zionist, the JPR survey suggests 72 percent of British Jews are pessimistic about the future of democratic government in Israel.

Demographic surveys also point to how miniscule is the support from British Jews for Netanyahu — the JPR showed only 13 percent approved of him. Yet organisations often prefer not to recognise how small in number they are, often according them equal status with Netanyahu’s critics in the name of consensus and communal harmony.

The JPR should be thanked for its painstaking analysis, despite the silent brickbats thrown at them — opponents will undoubtedly look for ‘alternative facts’ in true Trumpian style. It is hard to be a Jew, but it is even harder to be a Jewish demographer.

Last-ditch chance to save historic Hove community

cultural diversity, glorious Regency architecture, great schools and the sea and promenade.

The closure of a synagogue is always a great sadness. When it is a shul with such a storied history as the Hove Hebrew Congregation on Holland Road with such a strong link to one’s own family, it is devastating.

News of the proposed closure brought me to tears – so much of my life and that of my parents and late brothers is embedded in the fabric, memories and traditions of that community.

The paradox is the news comes at a moment of revival for the 250-year-old Jewish community. The opening of a new synagogue, kosher restaurant and housing complex in West Hove, a project conceived and executed by the proprietor of Brighton & Hove Albion, Tony Bloom, was intended to act as stimulant to the future of Judaism in Sussex and a tremendous and benevolent achievement. It should not have become a challenger to existing congregations.

The closure of Holland Road also comes when there has been a marked influx of Jewish families and young people to the Brighton area attracted by closeness to London, the city’s

The current plan is for the doors to be closed immediately after Yom Kippur and the keys handed to property developers. One wall of the original building is listed. There are e orts to include more but one fears that ship has sailed.

The extraordinary thing is that, despite an elderly and slowly depleted membership, the community is in good financial health.

Also, to their great credit, the current honorary o cers have taken huge and complex precautions to ensure the rights of existing members are properly preserved.

Burial rights have long been a source of contention between the more historic Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation (BHHC), owners of historic Middle Street synagogue, and the new shul in West Hove as well as the Meadow View cemetery on the South Downs.

Heroically, Holland Road honorary life presidents Stanley Cohen and Michelle Cohen have shown great foresight, skill and kindness in setting up a special trust fund to make sure that the burial rights of members, their families and the waifs and strays of Hove – without formal connections to the community – are

I’M REMINDED OF HOW OTHER SHULS WERE ALMOST LOST BEFORE BEING TRANSFORMED

fully preserved. This meticulous preparation for all future eventualities I suspect was a key factor when members came to vote on closure.

That is not to say I don’t have an admiration for BHHC too. My uncle Hillel Brummer, served as chazzan and minister during the Second World War and by reputation bravely saved the splendid Middle Street synagogue from destruction by stray Nazi shells.

My parents met on the steps of the shul and were married there and my late brother Martin was bar mitzvahed there – but my heart and memories are tied up with Holland Road.

The question now is whether the closure is necessary. As a financial writer, I am aware of the importance of succession planning. With the right rabbi, excellent catering facilities of the Talmud Torah hall next to the shul and the central geographical location, one cannot but feel there must have been an alternative path.

I am reminded of how close the United Synagogue came to shutting South Hampstead until the inspirational Rav Shlomo Levine turned it into one of London’s most vibrant and aspirational communities. A similar transformation has been accomplished at Brondesbury. My mother Hilda, who served as chairman of what used to be called the Ladies Guild at Holland Road, would be beside herself with anguish. My late brother Daniel, who as warden was responsible for much of the mechanics of calling-up to the law, including reading the Haftorah when the honoree failed to show, would be distressed. And my late father Michael, an honorary life vice-president who lived that role until he died at the age of 103, would have recognised as a refugee from the Holocaust that survival is the ultimate triumph. Whatever happened to that can-do spirit? Maybe I am tilting at windmills.

A crucial need to support all those who support us

Challenging times often reveal the character of societies, institutions and individuals. As we emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, we are at a crossroads with new and unprecedented challenges to our communal institutions. One particularly alarming trend, the widely-reported withdrawal of 14 esteemed United Synagogue rabbis within a year, prompts reflection. Is this an ominous sign of systemic issues within the religious leadership of the UK, or a temporary setback?

During lockdown, faith leaders, traditionally our pillars of comfort and guidance, confronted challenges previously unforeseen. In my role overseeing 25 university chaplains and associates, sent by and representing eight faiths and worldviews, I’ve had a front-row seat to the myriad struggles di erent religious institutions have faced.

However, within our Jewish community it is pivotal to realise these pressures did not appear

spontaneously during the pandemic. Conversations with my fellow rabbis have confirmed these challenges were long-standing in many congregations and recent events accentuated them. What remains paramount is our capacity to adapt, evolve and draw lessons from these unique circumstances.

The pandemic underscored our adaptability for innovation. Clergy seamlessly transitioned into roles as digital presenters and producers, expanding their reach well beyond their usual congregations.

Nevertheless, amid these commendable strides, the strain on our faith leaders cannot be downplayed. A substantial number reported feeling overwhelmed.

The acceptance and open acknowledgment of needing support, prevalent among millennial families and GenZ, signifies a cultural shift. The rabbi’s evolving role as pastoral counsellor on university campuses over the past decade is a testament to this change. This inclination is now gradually being echoed by younger families joining synagogues.

The role of the rabbi pastoral counsellor will only grow and to meet community needs we need to plan for the future. At the university, I was lucky enough to collaborate with pandemic experts to plan everything before lockdown. It

helped. There will be other emergencies in the future but of equal importance is our need to adapt to the increasing demands placed on our clergy resulting from this societal shift.

There now needs to be a post-lockdown blueprint for the Jewish community, which includes:

Community self-assessment: Esteemed bodies like the JLC should undertake a holistic review of our pandemic response, with a focus on bolstering support mechanisms for pivotal community professionals, such as our rabbis.

Clinical supervision for rabbis: It is imperative every rabbi has access to clinical supervision, a service o ered to most counsellors, aiding them to navigate their intricate roles and pastoral care responsibilities.

Counselling accessibility: Prioritising

access to counselling services for our rabbonim is essential in crisis situations.

Peer networks: To o set the inherent isolation synonymous with clerical roles, regular peer check-ins, much like the ones we initiated for our chaplains, can be invaluable.

Career flexibility and ongoing development: It is crucial to o er avenues for our rabbis to transition smoothly between varied communal rabbinic roles, recognising and nurturing their diverse talents, and propelling professional advancement through both formal and informal educational routes.

We are a people business, and like most people businesses we need to look after our key workers if we hope to retain them.

To me, these aren’t just optional guidelines but vital mandates. While some initiatives might require substantial investment, the timeless wisdom, direction and unwavering support our rabbis provide deem them essential.

Our collective duty is to back our faith leaders unfailingly. The Talmud poignantly states: “Whomever benefits from a thing without showing gratitude for it, it is as if he robs the Divine and the assembly of Israel” (Berakhot 35b).

In simpler terms: let’s wholeheartedly support those who support us.

RABBI ALEXANDER GOLDBERG

DEAN OF RELIGIOUS LIFE AND BELIEF, UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

ALEX BRUMMER CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

LIKE EVERY PEOPLE BUSINESS, WE NEED TO LOOK AFTER OUR KEY WORKERS

Claudia just loves creating laughter

HOME SUPER HOME

What do you get when you mix a real estate expert with reality TV royalty?

The makings of an exciting new Channel 4 reality property show.

Think Selling Sunset meets The Apprentice – Selling Super Houses stars property tycoon Paul ‘PK’ Kemsley and his wife Dorit, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The couple have traded Beverly Hills for London to front the show, which launched this week.

Selling Super Houses showcases the UK’s most exclusive prop erties as eight wannabe estate agents battle it out to secure a sale and the chance to land a job at commercial and residential agency Robert Irving Burns, where PK is a director. The show also features his business partner Antony Antoniou and good friend Boy George, whom PK manages.

In the first episode the eight contestants held an open house to sell a £20m property in Radlett.

Kenwood House has 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, three swimming pools, a gym, a cinema, a tennis court and 26 acres of grounds. The commission on a sale would net the agency £400,000.

Suggestions from PK to the candidates included a tip to research the best schools in the area. After

some constructive criticism from him about the open house, despite the champagne being lukewarm and the music being too loud, he revealed that no one would be leaving the competition.

“I’m a big believer in second chances,” he said.

Displaying openness and encouragement, PK told the contestants how he built a billion-dollar business then lost it and had to build himself up again. He said: “We are not here to trip you up. We want to help you. We want you to win.” He told viewers: “I picked this group of rough diamonds because I think they’ve got the potential to make it.”

The eight hopefuls are styled by Dorit and trained by Paul as they try to prove they have what it takes to be a part of the newly founded arm of the agency.

American fashion designer and style icon Dorit is a regular cast member in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. While Paul has frequently appeared on the show, he has had his own stint at reality TV, as one of Lord Sugar’s trusted advisers/ interviewers on The Apprentice between 2005 and 2008. The couple have two children together.

PK comes across as refreshingly genuine and affable. He is there to encourage. He chats to the agents one-to-one and wants to help them

succeed. A British-born global entrepreneur, he has an impressive business background spanning property, sports and entertainment. The former vice-chair of Spurs, he carved out a successful career in property, creating a $2bn property empire from scratch in 1995 through to 2009.

He has bought and sold more than 750 buildings and developed millions of square feet internationally, including acquiring over a million square feet in Manhattan. Buildings that Paul has owned in London include The Ned and the Burberry Building in Haymarket.

Since moving to America, he has been a talent manager – managing Boy George since 2014 and signing Lulu this year – but is returning to real estate, eager to impart his

knowledge to help the next generation of entrepreneurs in the UK.

Speaking about the show, Paul said: “After 12 years out of real estate, I feel the time is right for my return to an industry and city I love. When the credit crunch hit, I lost the business it had taken 15 years to build. I had no choice but to file bankruptcy and start again. The USA loves a comeback story and afforded me that opportunity. Now it’s time for me to share my knowledge and help the next group of young aspiring entrepreneurs right here in the UK.

“I’m delighted to be teaming with South Shore and Channel 4 as I embark on my new journey creating, moulding, supporting and advising some of the UK’s brightest new brokers. It’s going to be an emotional, fun, hectic ride.”

PK has dedicated the show to his friend Daniel Pittack, who died recently and had encouraged him to do it. PK wrote on his Instagram: “When I first wanted to make this show, I called a few pals in London

to garner an opinion. It was my friend Daniel Pittack who encouraged me, he loved it, he opened his home to help me make the pilot… we lost Daniel very suddenly a few weeks ago.

“He believed in me, my vision and was all in. I’m so sad today that he isn’t here to see it, but I feel he’s somehow watching.”

Selling Super Houses features some of London’s most glamorous homes. In next week’s episode the agents tackle the sale of Boy George’s gothic mansion in Hampstead.

According to reports, demand for top-tier London locations remains high among equity-rich buyers, despite the mounting pressures on many homebuyers caused by mounting mortgage rates.

A recent survey by Pinterest puts London on top when it comes to Europe’s most exquisite homes, with a home aesthetic score of 9.87/10. A staggering 84,830 ‘pins’ were reported in the capital, nearly three times as much as the next most pinned city.

Additionally, there are 689 ‘boards’ devoted to the city. “From the English Baroque structures that emerged around London after the Great Fire to the sleek modern stylings of today’s new constructions, there is something for everyone in the city,” says the Pinterest report.

■ Selling Super Houses is on Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 9pm

The eight contestants at 10-bed, £20m Kenwood House in Radlett

Candice Krieger gets stuck in to Channel 4’s new real estate reality show that features a few familiar faces

Property guru Paul ‘PK’ Kemsley presents the show on which his wife Dorit (inset), star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, also appears

Boy George

Best remember the name Claudine Ullman because she’s coming in H-O-T with a cult following of fans she a ectionately calls ‘angeldoves’.

Having emigrated last November from South Africa, in October the Joburg native is bringing audiences her onewoman comedy show Artificially Infeminated, covering topics such as her childhood infatuation with becoming famous and the push-pull of going to the gym versus moreish ‘tennis biscuits’.

Claudine lives in Edgware with husband Danny, who works in advertising, and baby Shiloh, aged two. “I’ve got my sister in the next road, Danny’s sister and brother too and I couldn’t be happier. But if you asked me six months ago: ‘How’s London?’ I would have said I was su ering from immigration depression. Now, I see how close Shiloh is to our nieces and nephews.

“I feel blessed. Back in South Africa there’s such a strong Jewish community and coming to the UK, it’s great to know you have a place you fit into. I’m not hugely religious but I’m traditional. Do I love

Anyone for tennis (biscuits)?

chopped liver? Abso-bloodylutely. And chrayne. So, if that makes me Jewish, I’m in.”

So how does a Jewish woman make it big in comedy? “I went to King David (a Jewish state school in South Africa) and I was always a born performer, getting kicked out of classes for talking too much, just like my mum! I knew I was hilarious, I just needed to find something I was good at and because I was obsessed with art and drama and English, I applied for a public speaking event.

“At first I completely froze, but I took a deep breath and began to improvise.

“And I loved it on stage. I got my honours in physical theatre and clowning at the University of Witz [Witwatersrand] and while all my friends went o travelling, I came to London to work as a teaching assistant, saving every last cent to go to clown school.”

The fascination with comedy and clowning was cemented in her childhood, watching films and shows on TV with her dad.

“I loved Carol Burnett and we would sit and laugh watching her

shows and all the Carry On films together.

“When I started working the circuit in South Africa, my style was very niche and people didn’t get me, so I knew London would give me more opportunities to play the clown. The three comedy clubs in Joburg that closed during Covid? Still closed. In London, I can go to a di erent comedy club every night of the week.”

With a postgraduate diploma in film, Claudine is also a professional improviser and founder of Jittery Citizens, which facilitates team building and training.

“Lots of the exercises I do with top global executives are the same ones I used to do with my five-yearolds. Kids have zero inhibitions whereas the executives have a fear of failing. In my comedy, I talk about mastering failure and when is Charlie Chaplin the funniest? When he fails. So, I try to look at failure as an opportunity. If people are laughing at me, I’m winning, because making people laugh is one of the hardest things to do.”

Not content with all this attention and still striving for more,

Claudine entered Mrs South Africa 2022, making it as a finalist, ‘Mrs Personality’. “That journey was the biggest, most insane improv I’ve ever pulled. A year and a half before, I was hijacked at gunpoint and really felt disheartened by my country.

“Gender-based violence is rife and there are so many issues facing women in South Africa, and as a female comedian, I was sexually harassed – I didn’t feel safe going alone at night to the comedy clubs. I’m so lucky to have trailblazers like Celeste Ntuli and Nina Hastie in this industry. We have each other’s backs.

“The pageant allowed me to fall in love again with myself and my country. It was like a crash course in female empowerment and it felt gorgeous to have an impact on the competition. When we raise each other up we truly become unstoppable. I’m trying to teach my son how to be a mensch and grow up respecting women while respecting himself.”

Wearing so many professional hats, the question is, which fits Claudine best and what’s the goal?

“I’m very esoteric and I’m having the biggest jol [jawl – Afrikaans for party] and saying yes to everything. My dream would be if Lorne Michaels [creator/producer of Saturday Night Live] called to say he wants me for SNL. Just put me on a set and I’m at my happiest.”

Turning to her penchant for South African ‘tennis biscuits’, has she found the UK equivalent for these crisp coconutty biscuits and do we need to try them?

“I will tell you something, there are a lot of South African shops here and I’ve had my fill of tennis biscuits,” Claudine says, cryptically.

“So, turn to one of your South African friends and say, ‘Why have you been such a terrible friend to me? Where is my peppermint crisp dessert?’ There’s whipped cream. And caramel. And tennis biscuits! Heaven.

“Heaven. Heaven. I’ll send you the recipe just now.”

And she did. It sounds heavenly, Angeldoves.

 Claudine Ullman will be appearing on stage in London in October. For more information and ticket sales visit www.claudineullman.com

South African comedian Claudine Ullman loves London. She tells Debbie Collins about being an immigrant and a born performer – and about her forthcoming show

Claudine Ullman:

‘When people are laughing at me I’m winning, because making people laugh is one of the hardest things to do’

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Food FOLK

Do you eat to live or live to eat? Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to make the choice. There are many people, even in the ‘a uent’ UK, who need help to source food. Many charities exist to tackle this need but they cannot run without the help of a copious number of volunteers. In my role as volunteer broker for the Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN), I went to visit and help out at some of these charities.

Amanda and Jacqueline, both teachers, started Give. Help. Share. at the height of the pandemic when they became aware of the food insecurity of many of their pupils’ families. They contacted food companies that had surplus and started making up bags of healthy food which they then distributed to families who needed them. The food run extended to nine primary schools in Borehamwood and then further afield, the facilitation of which became impossible for the pair to sustain in their lunch hour.

They have now both left teaching and are running their charity full-time, and then some. Give. Help. Share. delivers about 400 healthy food parcels a week to schools. It also implements food education workshops for children in Years 5 and 6. The need for this is real: Amanda and Jacqueline told me they had come across children who didn’t know how to peel a banana.

The food parcels need volunteers willing to pack and deliver them. In the short time I spent there it was very clear that the packing sessions, which take place in Give. Help.

Share.’s hub, Amanda’s garage in Elstree, are full of fun and meaning for the volunteers.

The food bank at QCCA (Queen’s Crescent Community Association) in Gospel Oak is used by local people who need extra help to feed themselves and their families. There is no referral process. Volunteer co-ordinator Sarolta Blanar explained that QCCA’s ethos is that it is better to serve someone who might not need it as much than not to serve someone who really does.

The main donations are from organisations that collect surplus food from supermarkets, such as City Harvest and The Felix Project, as well as purchases from QCCA’s weekly budget and individual donations. Sarolta shared that the number of service users is increasing: there are currently about 80, with five to 10 new people every week.

About six volunteers are needed per shift where they accompany one service user at a time to pick out fruit, vegetables, tinned goods, bread, milk and meat/vegetarian products. After my shift, there was still some food left over, which Sarolta informed me goes outside the centre in baskets for people to help themselves.

My final visit of this eye-opening and humbling experience was to GIFT (Give it Forward Today), located on two sites in Hendon.

When I stepped into the Giving Kitchen, I thought I’d walked into a party. There was music, schmoozing, beautiful food and a highly e cient packing and labelling system. The food is cooked by head chef Sarah Isaac,

who comes up with new menus every week and tries them out on her family first. I was shown around by founding director Michelle Barnett. She explained that GIFT provides and distributes 500 meals a week, mainly to older people who are unable to cook for themselves.

GIFT already had a food bank, but the Giving Kitchen project started during Covid, when all other charities closed their doors. Michelle, the warehouse manager at the time, had people coming in to volunteer in family units from morning until evening. This was facilitated by WhatsApp groups –there were volunteer drivers, packers and shoppers as well as tutors and befrienders for other projects.

I felt a real sense of community when I was there and shared with Michelle that the word on the Jewish street is that ‘If you want something doing, ask GIFT.’ She beamed. “We’re all so passionate about it – we all love our work and we get so much from it. Giving is kind of infectious, you just want more and more of the feeling.”

With the help of international food project expert Lauren Fried, this initiative became more structured and grew into the sensation that it is today. GIFT has shared its expertise with Central Synagogue in the West End, which now has its own kitchen project.

Not only does GIFT donate meals to the Jewish community, but also 50-100 soups to a women’s shelter and other families in tempo-

rary accommodation. Michelle took me up the street to GIFT’s warehouse, which provides food items to people who are able to cook for themselves. The food is supplied by supermarkets’ surplus, Food Bank Aid and local donations from GIFT boxes in kosher shops.

The packing and distribution system is carried out with the utmost discretion and the parcels are dropped o across London with a ‘knock, drop and run’ system. Nobody is forgotten, with special bags containing gluten-free, diabetic and hechshered items, as well as food for people with no cooking facilities.

Michelle sent me on my way with some fresh fruit salad and a request to mention that they were also looking for befrienders.

It had been a sobering experience. None of these charities could do the amazing work they do without volunteers. The task in hand is serious but the volunteering sessions are fun, interesting and rewarding.

The late Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, summed it up beautifully: “It’s what we give to others, more than what we get from others, which makes for a meaningful and happy life.”

Why not commit to volunteering in the new year? Even a short session can make so much difference. The charities need your help in order for these projects to run. For roles at Give. Help. Share., QCCA, GIFT, Felix Project, City Harvest and Food Bank Aid, please apply at www.jvn.org.uk

Angie Jacobs goes behind the scenes at three food-related charities that exist only thanks to the amazing e orts of volunteers

At GIFT’s warehouse no one is forgotten, including those who have no cooking facilities

Angie Jacobs (second left) at Give. Help. Share. and (top) GIFT volunteers in action

FORMER CEO HIRES HIMSELF OUT FOR FREE

It sounds like the makings of a Hollywood film – CEO steps aside from wellknown company he founded to go back to being an intern. Well, no need for Robert DeNiro (who played the title role in the Warner Bros hit film The Intern). Joe Binder, founder and owner of personal branding company WOAW, has spent the past few weeks working – for free – for a variety of business founders across the UK.

Binder, 27, stepped down this year as CEO from the company he founded five years ago, handing over the reins to Freddie Paxton. He explains: “A few years ago a successful businessperson I knew told me he was doing work experience. I loved the idea of this; when you do work experience, people tell you stu . You can be a sponge and learn.

“When I was away recently, I thought about shadowing a couple of people when I got back.” Binder called up his friend Joe Woolf (of Tasty Mates) to see if he was interested in hiring him for free for a bit. “He said yes. So then I thought, ‘Why don’t I post about it on LinkedIn, o ering myself up to other companies for free, before committing to a new role in September?’”

More than 60,000 people viewed his post, with hundreds of comments and more than 200 of people taking him up on the o er, including his mother. “She asked me if I could speak to her friend Margaret because she had seen me on the LinkedIn (sic).”

Binder, who has a geography degree from Cambridge University, spent weeks sifting

through the o ers before starting his series of varied internships where he has been doing full days of work for free. But this isn’t interning as you might expect it. Binder has been devising three-year business plans with founders of multi-million-pound companies, leading company-wide sessions on creating a feedback culture and planning ways to make work more meaningful for sta .

This has included working with the founder of Mr Plantain Crisp, Francis Opoku, to help make plantain crisps mainstream. He also spent time with David Weaver, the co-founder of Vintage Cash Cow, an internet marketplace platform that’s set to turn over more than £30m this year and employs nearly 200 sta . On a smaller scale, Binder also spent one day working in a couple’s home with laptops and mindmaps sprawled across the kitchen table, identifying the best ways to grow their business. “My promise was that for those who wanted to take me up on the ‘free day o er’, there were no revenue requirements, no team size requirements.”

Binder adds: “Whether it’s a new-found appreciation and respect for working parents, relishing certain problems to work through for my next business or thinking ‘That business model is crazy!’ it has been a really varied and enriching experience.”

A former YouTuber and influencer, Binder launched WOAW in 2018 after identifying a growing trend toward the ‘social CEO’ with more and more expected from a company’s leadership team. “PR for business leaders has always existed, but social media was always an afterthought. I wanted to create a company to cater for this niche.”

WOAW builds personal brands for founders and CEOs. Clients have included Dragons’ Den stars James Caan and Tej Lalvani, CEO of Vitabiotics, as well as awardwinning entrepreneur Erika Brodnock.

A growing number of companies,

including LinkedIn, are encouraging a skillsbased approach to hiring to tap into more diverse talent pools. Companies are more willing to consider applicants who don’t necessarily have a university degree or minimum years of experience.

Binder believes that experience is more important than qualifications in today’s changing world of work. “For example, when it comes to hiring copywriters, I don’t care if you have an English literature degree or not. What I care about is if you can write a story in an engaging and accessible way.

“We are absolutely seeing a shift toward a skills-based approach to hiring. The qualifications definitely show an employer that someone has had to jump through various hoops to get to where they are, but it doesn’t show the full picture.”

A former JFS student, Binder was mocked at school for being “the dumb kid”. He recalls: “I even earned the nickname ‘3B’ because I was in the bottom sets for all subjects. People set low expectations of me, and I began to agree with them.” But then something changed –“I knew I could do better, work harder and achieve more.”

Determined to prove people wrong, Binder swapped lunch breaks for extra homework and convinced his teachers to move him up a set. His hard work paid o and he became deputy head boy before gaining a place at Cambridge. There, he started his own YouTube channel, documenting the life of a Cambridge student.

So what’s next? Binder is working on his latest venture but “keeping it under wraps for as long as possible”. Meanwhile, he urges employers to give people a chance. “Speak to any successful person and they’ll tell you about that one person who believed in them, who said ‘yes’ to the o er of a co ee, who invited them for work experience. If you can be that person to others, do it!”

Joe Binder stepped down from his branding company to develop his skills. Now he’s out to inspire others to do the same, he tells Candice Krieger

Joe

with Francis Opoku of Mr Plantain Crisp, where he

Miracles

On my first day of secondary school, I sat at my desk at the back of the class and looked around the room. Everybody was writing. I whispered to my friend sitting next to me: “What are you writing?” She told me she was copying what was on the board. I looked at her, confused, and asked: “Can you see that?” Now it was her turn to look confused as she asked me: “Can you not see that?”

I remember being blown away when I came out of the optician wearing glasses for the first time. I could see individual leaves on the trees! Unbelievable! I just thought that things that are far away look

parsha to the way we live today

blurry as that was my experience; it hadn’t occurred to me until then that I was shortsighted, and that other people could see further than me.

In this week’s parsha, Ki Tavo, at the end of 40 years travelling in the desert, Moshe recounts the open miracles that the Jewish people have seen since leaving Egypt. “And yet,” he tells them, “until this day, God has not given you a heart to understand, nor eyes to see or ears to listen”

(Deut 29:3). What does Moshe mean? He goes on to explain: “I led you through the wilderness for 40 years; the clothes on your back did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet” (Deut 29:4).

Can you imagine never having to buy new shoes or clothes? Those of us lucky enough to have children would be delighted not to have to buy them

new shoes every few months as their feet grow. Moshe had to point this out to the Jews because they hadn’t realised it themselves! Why not? If you’re born in a desert and your shoes grow and your clothes don’t wear out, this becomes your normal; it would never occur to you that it’s miraculous. Or for that matter that in the rest of the world, manna doesn’t fall from heaven and a well of water doesn’t follow people round in case they’re thirsty.

The Netziv, a 19th-century commentator, explains in his work HaEmek Dvar that Moshe is trying to impart the profound truth to the Jewish people that even at a time of national crisis, when the Jews were living through one of their harshest punishments, being forced to wander through a desert for 40 years, they were still surrounded

The way one person sees is not the way everyone sees

miracles that will go unnoticed as they become natural to you. A chance encounter may open your eyes (pardon the pun) to the fact that the way you see is not the way everybody sees, and that, in fact, our lives are replete with hidden miracles.

CALL OF THE SHOFAR

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LEAP OF FAITH

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lives seem to have become a core fascination for how we remember them.

To mark 26 years since the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Israeli swimwear company Gottex has brought out a new version of the costume she wore during what would become her final summer – perhaps a fitting way to remember the ‘queen of people’s hearts’ whose every look was photographed, celebrated and in many cases copied.

A di erent kind of queen, Freddie Mercury, is also being remembered, more than 30 years after his death. Crowds are flocking to an exhibition at Sotheby’s of the contents of his home. The trappings of these two

In Israel, there are constant discoveries and preservations of the lives of our ancestors, and even attempts to recreate them. The Temple may have been gone for nearly 2,000 years, but it remains a place of fascination, adoration, recreation and pilgrimage. Although as a people we balk against idolatry (and the worship of celebrities and material things today may well stray into this from time to time!) we also use physical objects and places to remember and connect to our history and our ancestors, and the meaning their lives may hold for us.

A number of years ago my husband and I had been told we probably wouldn’t have children, and as we happened to be visiting Israel shortly after, we decided to visit the tomb of Rachel, our matri-

arch who su ered from infertility while her sister Leah mothered half the tribes. This site has been a place of pilgrimage for those struggling to conceive for centuries.

Today everyone knows where the tomb is, but historically there were other contenders for her burial. You could argue it was a collective decision to designate that place as the one where Rachel lies (and any perceived power her grave may hold). Whether or not she is there becomes irrelevant over time; it is the prayers and hopes of generations of people that embed meaning into the place.

The significance that Diana and Freddie Mercury hold for individuals may already outstrip the reality of what any one person’s life can truly hold. I suspect, however, they won’t hold quite the power and longevity with which faith and peoplehood have imbued our ancient ancestors

and their stories; stories that have come down to us in pieces, retold by generations who were helped by them

and captivated by them, meaning any physical remembrance we can grasp begins to tell its own story.

Would you like to rediscover your Jewish identity? Or have you been considering

Conversion to Judaism

We would like to wish everyone L’Shana Tova

If you would like to attend our High Holy Day Services, please call for Details.

We are a small very welcoming community with a different ethos to the Shuls of your childhood. We promote full inclusion under the auspices of Reform Judaism:

Regular Services for Shabbat & Festivals

Mixed Faith and Woodland Burials

Mixed Faith Blessings

Cheder

Bar / Bat Mitzvah

Conversion Classes

Reasonable Subs reduced for people up to 35 years of age

Free onsite Parking

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

Objects and places can have a kind of magic

An exhibition of the late Freddie Mercury’s possessions is drawing crowds

10 Golders Green Road

London NW11 8LL

Opposite Cafe Nero

Suits from £79.50

SUMMER BARGAINS FOR ALL SPECIALISING IN LARGE SIZES

Overcoats from £79.50

TROUSERS ARE DOWN

Trouser Bargains £25

SUMMER CHINOS IN ALL COLOURS £20 EACH 2 FOR £30

Raincoats from £49.50

BIG SIZE TROUSERS UP TO 56 WAIST AVAILABLE

SHORT SLEEVE POLO SHIRTS £15 EACH 2 FOR £20

Large Sizes a speciality

SUITS AND SPORTS JACKETS ALL HALF PRICE

SHIRT BARGAINS £15 EACH 2 FOR £25

Open everyday & Sundays til 5:00pm

We accept

MORNING

Your gift can help change their lives

You can be there for them every step of the way with a gift in your Will.

To find out about how to leave a gift and our FreeWill service please contact Richard Budden, Head of Individual Giving and Legacies.

T: 0208 7361250 or go to www.worldjewishrelief.org/will

Ask our experts / Professional advice from our panel

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST

TREVOR GEE

Qualifications:

• Managing director, consultant specialists in affordable family health insurance

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

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

• LLB solicitors finals

• Member of Chartered Insurance Institute

PATIENT HEALTH 020 3146 3444/5/6 www.patienthealth.co.uk trevor.gee@patienthealth.co.uk

HUMAN RESOURCES / EMPLOYMENT LAW

DONNA OBSTFELD

Qualifications:

• FCIPD Chartered HR Professional

• 25 years in HR and business management.

• Mediator, business coach, trainer, author and speaker

• Supporting businesses and charities with the hiring, managing, inspiring and firing of their staff

DOHR LTD 020 8088 8958 www.dohr.co.uk donna@dohr.co.uk

ACCOUNTANT

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

JACOB BERNSTEIN

Qualifications:

• A member of the APCC, specialising in financial services compliance for:

• Mortgage, protection and general insurance intermediaries;

• Lenders, credit brokers, debt counsellors and debt managers;

• Alternative Investment Fund managers;

• E-Money, payment services, PISP, AISP and grant-making charities.

RICHDALE CONSULTANTS LTD 020 7781 8019 www.richdale.co.uk jacob@richdale.co.uk

MENOPAUSE CHAMPION LABALANCE

ANGELA DAY-MOORE

Qualifications:

• Founder & CEO Sassy La Femme Women’s Wellness

• Passionate about women’s wellbeing

• Home to LaBalance

• Recommended by fellow women for period, perimenopause & menopause

MENOPAUSE CHAMPION LABALANCE 0333 188 6580 www.sassylafemme.com hello@sassylafemme.com

JEWELLER

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST

DR MONICA QUADIR

Qualifications:

• Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than 12 years of experience in treating young people and their families, both in the NHS and privately

• Expertise in assessing neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD and autism, and supporting families to manage these conditions

• Medical director at Psymplicity Healthcare, a private mental health clinic based in London, with a national online presence

PSYMPLICITY HEALTHCARE 020 3733 5277

www.psymplicity.com enquiries@psymplicity.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES

ADAM SHELLEY

Qualifications:

• 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

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

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

JOE OZER

Qualifications:

• Executive director for the United Kingdom at DCI (Intl) Ltd

• Worked in finance for more than 20 years

• Specialists in distribution and promotion of Israel Bonds

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOR ISRAEL 020 3936 2712

www.israelbondsintl.com

joe.ozer@israelbondsintl.com

GOAL ATTAINMENT SPECIALIST

DR BEN LEVY

Qualifications:

• Doctor of psychology with 15 years’ experience in education and corporate sectors

• Uses robust, evidence-based methods to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be

• Works with clients individually to maximise success

MAKE IT HAPPEN 07779 619 597 www.makeit-happen.co.uk ben@makeit-happen.co.uk

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

LISA WIMBORNE

Qualifications:

Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including:

• The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on-site support

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

• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis

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

CAREER ADVISER

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

LESLEY TRENNER

Qualifications:

• Provides free professional one-to-one advice at Resource to help unemployed into work

• Offers mock interviews and workshops to maximise job prospects

• Expert in corporate management holding director level marketing, commercial and general management roles

RESOURCE 020 8346 4000

www.resource-centre.org

office@resource-centre.org

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

SUE CIPIN OBE

Qualifications:

• 24 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

PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL

LOUISE LEACH

Qualifications:

• Professional choreographer qualified in dance, drama and Zumba (ZIN, ISTD & LAMDA), gaining an honours degree at Birmingham University

• Former contestant on ITV’s Popstars, reaching bootcamp with Myleene Klass, Suzanne Shaw and Kym Marsh

• Set up Dancing with Louise 19 years ago

DANCING WITH LOUISE 075 0621 7833

www.dancingwithlouise.co.uk

Info@dancingwithlouise.com

WE’RE HIRING!

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Salary: Up to £90,000 full-time Location: North London with some flexible home working Job Share applicants welcome

We are seeking an inspiring senior leader with a passion for women’s equality and an understanding of the Jewish community.

Jewish Women’s Aid is the only specialist organisation in the UK supporting Jewish women and children affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. Our vision is of a world where women and girls live their lives free from all forms of violence and abuse.

JWA is a thriving organisation, with a strong Senior Leadership Team, loyal staff and a proactive Board of Trustees. This is an exciting opportunity for a new CEO to launch JWA into our next phase, bring fresh vision and help us build on our current strengths in order to seek out new opportunities.

The full recruitment pack can be downloaded from www.jwa.org.uk/ceo-recruitment

Deadline for applications: 5pm on 18th September 2023 Interviews: Week commencing 9th October

Need Cash Fast?

Silver 925ag per gram - £0.38

Half Sovereigns - £173.03 Full Sovereigns - £346.05

Krugerrands - £1,468.65

We also purchase sterling silver candlesticks and any other sterling tableware

We can create the design of your dreams ...and at a wholesale price! We can supply any certificated GIA or HRD diamond of your choice.

A free valuation from our in house gemmologist and gold experts on anything you may wish to sell. If you are thinking of selling, the price of diamonds has never been higher! In any shape, size, clarity or colour. WE PAY MORE than all our competitors. Try us, and you will not be disappointed!

ANTIQUES

Top prices paid

Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)

Epstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc. Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc.

House clearances

Single items to complete homes

MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED 07866 614 744 (ANYTIME) 0207 723 7415 (SHOP)

closed Sunday & Monday

STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk

MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING

etc. No job too big or too small! Rubbish cleared as part of a full clearance. We have a waste licence. We buy items including furniture bric a brac.

For a free quote please phone Dave on 07913405315 any time.

LAW MENTOR

Costume jewellery and watches etc 01277 352560

Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:

• CVs and personal statements

• interviews and assessment days

• coping with stress and workload

• promotion and new opportunities

For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097

LEGACY- LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR MEMORY

HOME & MAINTENANCE

LAW MENTOR

Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:

• CVs and personal statements

• interviews and assessment days

• coping with stress and workload

• promotion and new opportunities

For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097

WEB DESIGN

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD

9 So to speak (2,2,4)

10 Marshes (4)

11 Optimally (2,4)

12 High-order angel (6)

15 Number of quires in a ream (6)

18 Someone who holds another prisoner (6)

20 Clenched hand (4)

22 Garbage containers (8)

23 Pertaining to group singing (6)

24 People forced to live abroad (6)

25 Ply a needle (3) DOWN

1 Hunting dog (6)

2 Choose (6,2)

3 Sherwood ___, Robin Hood’s home (6)

4 Bed quilts (6)

5 Mausoleum (4)

6 Telephone (4,2)

11 Insect (3)

13 Non-monarchic government (8)

14 Belonging to that woman (3)

16 Heaviness (6)

17 Warbles, as in the Alps (6)

18 Nut variety (6)

19 Snow leopards (6)

WORDSEARCH CODEWORD

The listed words about Where’s Wally? 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.

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.

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

Last issue’s solutions