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Masthead FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 23 November 2023 • 10 Kislev 5784 • Issue No.1342 •

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STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH BRITISH JEWS MEET THIS SUNDAY AT 13:30 ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE STRAND, LONDON ROUTE WILL BE POLICED

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Jewish News 23 November 2023

Week after week, central London has become a no-go zone for Jews.

We have witnessed mass criminality, including glorification of terrorism, support for banned terrorist organisations such as Hamas, and incitement to racial or religious hatred against Jews.

Every day, Campaign Against Antisemitism fights for the future of our community.

• We have been exposing the dangerous nature of the marches through London.

• We are explaining to the

British public exactly how our community feels.

• We are working with senior

politicians to address woeful law enforcement.

• Our lawyers are ensuring that antisemites will be held to account.

• We are providing free legal representation to those affected by antisemitism.

• We are providing free training to schools, campuses and workplaces.

The demand on our services is immense.

Please help us to stand up for Britain’s Jews by giving at antisemitism.org/donate.

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PROUD VOICE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY 23 November 2023 • 10 Kislev 5784 • Issue No.1342 •

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Generation to generation

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Wear yours with pride this Sunday Page 5

Wait of the world...

Roger Waters performing last month in Berlin

Home at last? Desperate families hope loved ones are on list of 50 women and children set to be freed by Hamas during ceasefire

by Jotam Confino in Israel jotam@jewishnews.co.uk

Anguish: A parent waits

The release of 50 women and children held hostage in Gaza could begin within hours after Israel and terror group Hamas agreed to a prisoner swap and four-day ceasefire.

The deal was announced after eight hours of marathon meetings in Israel’s war cabinet, security cabinet and government.

It includes the release of some 150

Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza.

Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list yesterday morning with the names of 300 Palestinian prisoners who are candidates for release.

The youngest on the list is 14 and the oldest is a female aged 59. Their crimes range from attempted manslaughter to throwing Molotov cocktails and attacking police officers.

An Israeli minister told Jewish News that some of the Palestinians expected to be released are members of Hamas.

The ceasefire was scheduled to come into effect at 10am on Thursday, giving Israelis opposed to the deal a chance to file a petition with the Supreme Court.

The deal was welcomed by President Isaac Herzog, who said the reservations among some Israelis “are understandable, painful, and difficult, but given the circumstances I back and support the

decision of the prime minister and the government to move forward with the deal to release hostages”.

“This is a moral and ethical duty that correctly expresses the Jewish and Israeli value of securing the freedom of those held captive, with the hope that it will be the first step in returning all the hostages home,” Herzog added.

The United States also welcomed the deal, which was brokered by Qatar Continued on page 2

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Jewish News 23 November 2023

ISRAEL AT WAR

£7M PLEDGED TO BATTLE ANTISEMITISM Jeremy Hunt yesterday announced funding of up to £7m over the next three years to organisations such as the Holocaust Educational Trust after expressing “deep concern” about rising antisemitism in the UK, writes Lee Harpin.

Delivering his Autumn Statement in the Commons, the chancellor began by referencing his “horror” at the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on 7 October, and “the subsequent loss of life on both sides”.

He then told MPs: “I will remember for the rest of my life, as I know many honourable members will, being taken to Auschwitz by Rabbi Barry Marcus and the remarkable HET. “I am deeply concerned about the rise in antisemitism in our country so I am announcing up to £7m over the next three years to organisations like HET to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities.”

He added: “I will also repeat the £3m uplift to the Community Security Trust. When it comes to antisemitism, and all forms of racism we must never allow the clock to be turned back.”

Meanwhile, the Union of Jewish Students has received many calls to a helpline set up for students to report concerns and antisemitic incidents.

Karen Pollock, HET chief executive, said: “We have seen a shocking rise of anti-Jewish racism on our streets, online, on university campuses and in our schools.

“Education is the key in combatting the world’s oldest hatred. The Holocaust Educational Trust has worked with Government for years and we thank them for their trust in us and this continued support.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We welcome this additional support in tackling antisemitism but we are also concerned about other forms of prejudice, including Islamophobia. Schools do an excellent job in teaching pupils about different faith perspectives and the damage and prejudice caused by stereotypes based on religion.

“However, they are doing this in the context of sharply polarised views in wider society and amidst a barrage of misinformation and hatred on social media platforms. There needs to be a broader, society-wide effort to tackle prejudice.”

Israel holds its breath for release of hostages Continued from page 1 and Egypt, which also includes American citizens taken hostage

by Hamas.

“I cannot imagine the ordeal that each of these individuals has endured over the past few weeks, and I am thankful that they will be reunited with their loved ones soon,” secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

“While this deal marks significant progress, we will not rest as long as Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza. My highest priority is the safety and security of Americans overseas, and we will continue our efforts to secure the release of every hostage and their swift reunification with their families,” he added.

Six Israeli hospitals announced that they were preparing to receive the hostages and carry out full medical checks on them; Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Hashomer, Shamir Medical Centre, Ichilov, Wolfson and Soroka Hospitals, and the Schneider Children’s Medical Centre.

Qatar said it hopes that the deal will lead to a “comprehensive and sustainable agreement that will put an end to the war and the bloodshed and lead to serious talks for a peace process comprehensive and fair”.

Newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron called the deal a “crucial step”.

A mother and daughter at a vigil for the hostages. Inset: an Israeli woman whose son has been injured and kidnapped shows footage to the Pope

He added: “This pause in the fighting is an opportunity to ensure much greater volumes of food, fuel and other life-saving aid can reach Gaza.

“I urge all parties to ensure the agreement is delivered in full. We want to see all hostages released immediately and families affected by the horrors of the 7 October terror attack reunited.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated ahead of the government’s vote on the hostage deal that the war with Hamas is still ongoing despite a short ceasefire.

“We will not stop the war after the ceasefire. There is nonsense out there suggesting that we will halt the war after the cease-fire to return the hostages.

“I would like to make it clear – we are at war and we will continue

the war until we achieve all our goals: eliminate Hamas, return all the hostages and missing and guarantee that there will be no threat to Israel in Gaza,” he said.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant also spoke ahead of the meeting, saying that without continued military pressure on Hamas “there will be no chance of bringing home additional hostages”.

• Protest at Harrods, Page 12

‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ As news began to emerge that hostage negotiations were making progress, the testimony from parents of three youngsters abducted by Hamas brought hardened journalists to tears, writes Beatrice Sayers.

For an hour on Monday morning they told of their unrelenting, unbearable pain since 7 October. Thomas Hand spoke of the unofficial report that his daughter Emily, who had been at a friend’s house on a sleepover on their kibbutz, Be’eri, had been killed. However, no DNA was found and later a witness emerged to her being kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

“In that moment I was being thrown back into the nightmare,” her father said. “And believe me, it’s a nightmare. We don’t know if she’s being fed, watered, if she has a place to go to the toilet even.”

At times he was tearful, at times angry. “The sheer terror of a nine-year-old girl down in

those dark tunnels, never seeing the light of day,” he said. “Sheer terror, panic, every hour of every day. She must be saying every day, ‘Where’s my daddy? Why doesn’t he come to save me?’ That’s what we’re all living through.”

Irish-born Hand is praying he will get Emily back, but added: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

He will be hoping Emily, nine, is among the first group of hostages to be released.

Struggling through tears, he said: “I don’t know what condition she’s going to be in but she’s going to be broken, mentally and physically. And we’ll have to fix that. It’s going to take a long time to fix that but we’ll do it. That’s my prime focus, my reason for living.”

Orit Meir’s 21-year-old son, Almog, was taken from the Nova music festival. He was celebrating a new job. Meir told her story. “At 7.45 in the morning he woke me up [with a phone call] and said, ‘Mum, they closed the party. They

are shooting all over. I don’t know what is going on. Mum, I love you.’ This was the last call from him. I turned on the TV and saw all the tragedy.”

Her daughter asked on Facebook whether anyone had seen Almog at the festival. “After three hours we got a phone call from his friend who had seen the videoclip that Hamas published,” Meir said. “We saw him lying on the floor with other young guys, their hands were tied, they were being beaten, he covered his face with his hands. He was frightened.

“This was the moment I knew my life was going to change, was never going to be the same,” she said. “My life is a nightmare.” She was unable to sleep, eat or work. “Everything’s stopped. I’m working now to bring him back home. I can’t do anything else.” Through tears, she said: “Help us. I want my son with me now.”

Iris Haim lost contact with her son, 28-yearold Yotam, a musician, at 10.44am on 7 October.

Thomas Hand at Monday’s press briefing

“Since then we’ve just had the basic clue that he’s in Gaza,” she said. “We saw he left his room on Kibbutz Kfar Aza not wounded, on his legs, walking, which gave us a little comfort.”

Her son needs medication for a health condition. “As a mother I cannot explain how I feel that my son is not with me,” Haim said. “This evil is not [only] against the Jewish people. It’s against the whole world.

“It started in Israel but it will continue, to harm every person in the free world.”

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Hamas units obliterated ahead of four-day pause Above and right: IDF troops on the ground in Gaza this week

As Israel and Hamas held intense negotiations this week over the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the IDF continued to pound the group in northern Gaza, saying thousands of its terrorists have been killed since the ground invasion was launched, writes Jotam Confino in Israel.

A senior IDF officer told Jewish News that the army estimates Hamas has 24 battalions across Gaza with 1,000 terrorist in each battalion. The army estimates it caused “significant” damage to 10 battalions.

The Israeli air force, navy and ground troops circled in on numerous Hamas strongholds, co-ordinating attacks on terror targets every day.

Some 400 tunnel shafts were exposed and destroyed. Ground troops raided the areas of Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun, killing scores of terrorists and locating weapons including AK-47 rifles, axes and ammunition stored in a civilian home. The IDF also found weapons and terrorist tunnels in mosques, schools, hospitals and residential buildings. It struck targets in southern Gaza as well, causing the death of dozens of Palestinian civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant applauded said the determination, of soldiers in Gaza, who are working with accurate intelligence, “leads to extraordinary achievements”.

He added: “The further this oper-

Capt (Res) Arnon Moshe Avraham Benvenisti Vaspi and Staff Sgt Ilya Senkin, 20, were killed in the Gaza Strip this week. The IDF has lost 67 troops in the ground operation

ation goes, the more we see the cruelty of Hamas.

“All their tunnel shafts are built underneath hospitals, all the offensive tunnels are built underneath schools, and are connected to one another – everything is a means to an end. Command centres are [built] underneath hospitals,” he added.

Israel meanwhile agreed to allow at least two tankers with fuel into Gaza every day, a number due to rise as part of a hostage deals. According to Hamas, 300 trucks carrying aid will be allowed into Gaza every day.

Both Jordan and the UAE have set up field hospitals in Gaza to treat wounded Palestinians.

On the northern front, Hezbollah increased its attacks against Israel over the weekend. According to the IDF, Israel has responded to all attacks, targeting both Hezbollah and Hamas in southern Lebanon. At least 70 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in Israeli attacks so far.

Destroyed buildings in northern Gaza

UK DOCTOR WHO WORKED AT AL-SHIFA TELLS OF ‘PARANOIA’ A doctor who used to work at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza has told France24 that it was used for “non-medical purposes”, strongly implying that Hamas terrorists were present at the hospital.

The British doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he could not emphasise “too much the air of collective paranoia that existed there”.

“When I was first asked to work there, I was told there was a part of the hospital I was not to go near, and if I did, I’d be in danger of being shot,” he said.

The doctor also said it was not explained to him why he could not go there but that it was implied it was “being used for non-medical purposes”. He added: “I stayed away, but I saw a few dodgy-looking non-medical characters going in and out all the time. It was a ward leading to a basement. As I said, I didn’t go there; so I behaved myself.”

The doctor said he was “welcome everywhere else” and that the doctors and nurses there were “very welcoming and very kind, and the hushed tones under which this was said were consistent with all the other hushed tones with which Hamas was discussed. You know, people were genuinely fearful.”

Journalists who have reported from al-Shifa throughout the years have also backed Israel’s claim that Hamas operates in the hospital.

In 2008, a New York Times journalist watched armed Hamas members inside the hospital wearing civilian clothes. The journalist also witnessed Hamas execute a Palestinian man accused of collaborating with Israel. In 2015, Amnesty International issued a damning report, stating that Hamas had interrogated and tortured Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.

• Al-Shifa and media impartiality: Page 11

CCTV pictures show hostages arriving at the hospital

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Jewish News 23 November 2023

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Thousands set to attend rally against antisemitism A huge crowd is expected in central London this Sunday for a national march against surging levels of antisemitism across the UK, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The event, which is being organised by volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism, starts from the Royal Courts of Justice at 1.30pm.

A spokesperson for CAA said: “Week after week, central London has become a no-go zone for Jews.

“We have witnessed mass criminality, including glorification of terrorism, support for banned terrorist organisations such as Hamas, and incitement to racial or religious hatred against Jews. The sad truth is that Jews do not feel safe in our capital city.

“Britain is known for its tolerance and decency, and we know

that the people of this country stand with the Jewish community in this difficult time.

“That is why those who stand with British Jews from up and down the UK, will be marching in London this Sunday in solidarity against antisemitism.”

Earlier this month in France more than 180,000 took part in marches against antisemitism across the country, with 100,000 in Paris alone.

While ten of thousands also took part in a pro-Israel demo in Washington DC, in the United States.

Sunday’s march will be protected by Metropolitan Police officers.

Not welcome: Tommy Robinson

Far-right activist ‘will attend as a journalist’

 Register at: eventbrite. co.uk/e/march-againstantisemitism-registration-757934651947

DESIGNER IS ‘SHARING LIGHT’ The sheet of stickers we hope you will find in this copy of Jewish News are the result of a chance meeting at an event in Finchley last week.

One of our reporters was attending the Sing for Israel evenings that Ivor Goldberg of the klezmer band Shir has been leading every week since 7 October.

She got chatting to one of the Israelis attending, who later shared photos of some stickers her friend had made. The wording and design were so simple and effective that Jewish News was determined to share them with its readers.

Emily Theodore, the graphic designer who created the special stickers for this paper, had been moved by the Jewish community’s peaceful and positive approach to activism. “I saw the message ‘Love is stronger than hate’ at a rally and I instantly connected to its uplifting message,” she said.

Theodore, 32, who is based in London, had wanted to contribute in her own way to the effort to combat rising antisemitism in the capital and

Emily Theodore: ‘My contribution’

began printing stickers to share with her friends.

“We realised these had a place on the streets in response to the divisive or hateful stickers, posters and graffiti we saw around us,” she said.

She takes her place alongside the countless groups and individuals who have been raising money and awareness, from organising campaigns and hanging posters to creating content and running events.

Theodore, who says she also enjoys dancing and big earrings, added: “It’s incredible to experience so much unity and love in these otherwise uncertain times. However or wherever you use your stickers, I hope they share a little light for yourself and those around you.”

Light and joy are what Ivor Goldberg’s Shir is also creating.

His Sing For Israel evenings are proving helpful and therapeutic, he said. “They give people the opportunity to connect and express themselves at this difficult time when many of us are feeling quite helpless.

“Singing together is always good for the soul, spirit and for the universe. And, of course, for Israel.”

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson has said he will ignore requests to keep away from Sunday’s march, insisting that he will be attending “in my capacity as a journalist”.

The former leader of the English Defence League presented himself as an ally of the Jewish community who was ready to “confront radical jihadism” at an online meeting on Monday.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he understood concerns about his attendance at community rallies.

But he told the audience of about 850 people, including members of the Jewish community in the UK and in Israel: “I am going there in my capacity as a journalist. I say to people saying ‘He shouldn’t be there’, well, maybe you should tell the BBC. They are the ones who won’t label Hamas terrorists.”

Earlier this month, after Robinson disclosed his plan to attend the rally, Campaign Against Antisemitism issued a statement saying: “Contrary to what Tommy Robinson appears to believe, the drunken farright thugs who came to ‘protect the cenotaph’ on Armistice Day are not allies of the Jewish community and are not welcome at our solidarity march on Sunday 26 November.”

Dad ‘broken’ after twins killed by Hamas The British father of 12-year-old twins who were murdered in the 7 October attack says he has been left broken by their deaths.

Gavin Heller, who lives in north London, said the “unfathomable, unimaginable, unspeakable has happened to my gorgeous children”.

His son and daughter Yannai and Liel Hetzroni-Heller (pictured) were killed in Kibbutz Be’eri. The siblings were raised in Israel by their great aunt, who was also killed.

UK-based relatives of those who were murdered or kidnapped during the attack are being supported by family liaison officers attached to the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

In a statement issued through the force, Gavin said: “I am utterly devastated by the news of my children’s deaths in Israel; it has broken me. Yannai and Liel had their entire lives ahead of them, but they were cruelly and brutally murdered on

that fateful October 7. My life will never be the same. There are no words that can ever or will ever explain this pain and brutality.

The unfathomable, unimaginable, unspeakable has happened to my gorgeous children, and the world has turned against humanity.”

Israeli media has reported that the children were held hostage by Hamas gunmen in a building that caught fire during a stand-off with Israeli forces.

Yannai and his great aunt were buried at a ceremony on 15 November 15, which some of Liel’s

belongings were also buried in the absence of her body. Days later some of her remains were identified.

Gavin added: “Heartbroken and horrified. There’s, for certain, no worse way to leave this world than to be violently murdered by a terrorist; all because they were Jewish.

May they both be at peace, together in heaven. All we can do now is pray that the world comes to its senses and understands that ‘never again’ is now.”

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Jewish News 23 November 2023

ISRAEL AT WAR

Eylon uses his stiff upper lip to make Israel’s case Eylon Levy tells Jenni Frazer it’s not easy being a high-profile government spokesman in the current conflict, at the sharp end of the media war Just over a decade ago, an Oxford University student was on the receiving end of a tantrum and walkout by the then-Respect MP George Galloway, who declared, “I don’t debate with Israelis”.

Fast forward and that same student, Eylon Levy, is now the face of Israel as the international spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office. Since 7 October and the massacres

by Hamas in southern Israel, Levy has done more than 120 television and radio interviews to media outlets all over the world.

He spoke to Jewish News only hours after a bruising encounter with BBC Radio 4’s Mishal Hussein on the Today programme — but the youthful Levy says he relishes the more difficult interviews in his bid to make Israel’s case.

A former TV anchor and also ex-spokesman for Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, the London-born and raised Levy was “a private citizen” on 7 October when Hamas attacked.

“We’d spent the whole year here in Israel at each other’s throats, really in the ugliest domestic arguments over judicial reform and other issues,” he notes.

“But as soon as the massacre happened, people dropped everything and said, we have one national task right now, to destroy Hamas and make sure it can never perpetrate those atrocities again.

“People started doing everything they could: ordinary people started delivering food to Holocaust survivors and to soldiers, and donating socks and deodorant and everything they could to troops on the front”.

For Levy — one of the strongest critics of Israel’s attempt to push through controversial and draconian policies — it meant accepting a call to return to the public eye by agreeing to become the Israeli spokesman for the “national emergency wartime government”.

He sees no conflict between his unexpected new role and his previous attacks on the political establishment. “There was an Israel before this war and an Israel after this war, and after a year in which we were arguing about very serious issues — I don’t downplay them for a moment — we realised that we, together, face a dangerous collective enemy that wants us all dead and is willing to use any level of sadistic and satanic violence against us, in order to murder every man, woman and child in the country.

“It is a national emergency. We are on total war footing now.”

Thinking back to his clash with Galloway, whose social media feed is filled with anti-

❝

Eylon Levy in action in two of more than 120 interviews he’s given since 7 October, putting over Israel’s story in the war against terror

Israel abuse, Levy has nothing but contempt for him. “He is truly a despicable human being; just deplorable,” Levy says.

“We’ve seen him, during this war, peddling full-on Holocaust denial nonsense about the atrocities of 7 October, going full 9/11 trigger about the facts of the massacre — because of course, for the people so heavily invested in the violent Palestinian cause, it is impossible to admit the extent of the barbarity on 7 October and admit the extent to which they have been complicit with fomenting that narrative and giving that violent ideology a tailwind.

“Either they absolutely support the atrocities they’re denying, or the cognitive dissonance is just making their heads explode. We’re definitely seeing that with a lot of people, not just Galloway.”

Levy says that “many presenters are doing their jobs when they ask difficult questions”, but he says he prefers such interviews as it gives him the opportunity “to present Israel’s case clearly,” rather than simply “reeling off talking points”.

Nevertheless, he says, “there is no doubt that being an Israeli government spokesman, you are subjected to a certain degree of hostility and needing to prove your humanity”.

MANY JOURNALISTS ARE EAGER TO DISMISS ANY EVIDENCE ISRAEL PRESENTS OF ITS OWN GOOD CONDUCT AND SPIN IT AGAINST US

He cites an interview with Sky News’ Kay Burley in which she asked Levy about Israeli and Palestinian parents. “She asked, I gave you an opportunity to sympathise with Palestinian parents, would you like to take that opportunity? Sometimes it does feel a bit insulting, as though I have to prove that I have a heart.

“The images on our screens are difficult for us to watch, too. But we hold Hamas responsible. I definitely notice, with journalists, a tendency to say, after something Israel claims, ‘we cannot independently verify this’ — even though we have presented the footage. And then they parrot Hamas propaganda or figures, taking a headline and saying, ‘Israel did X/Y/Z atrocity, Gaza health ministry claims’.

“That difference is very frustrating to deal with, but I know we have the facts and the law on our side. We have humanity and morality on our side. So, chin up, and stiff upper lip”.

He says many journalists are “eager to dismiss any evidence Israel presents of its own good conduct and try to spin it against us”.

It can be “a little disheartening”, Levy says, when constantly presented with the narrative that Israel is “ultimately at fault, responsible for everything”. He believes Israel is facing “an impossible situation, dealing with a cynical enemy that is making it as difficult

as possible to play by the rules of the game, which we are insisting on doing. I think it’s important that we stay calm — not always easy — and present the facts, and hope that comes through to the viewers at home”.

Talk of staying calm and stiff upper lips leads inevitably to the number of British expats making Israel’s case. Besides Levy there is presidential spokesman Jason Pearlman while ex-Brits Peter Lerner and Richard Hecht speak on behalf of the IDF. Levy smiles. “It is true British Jews are punching above their weight here,” he says.

“We all know each other and we are very proud of each other’s work.”

He returns to a serious response when asked about any hostage deal. “Israeli society is sick with worry about the hostages,” he says.

With a warning that post-war Israel will need “a lot of rebuilding and healing”, the Israeli government spokesman tells Jewish News readers to expect “a long, hard slog”.

And Eylon Levy leaves, ready for yet another interview.

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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Jewish News 23 November 2023

ISRAEL AT WAR

Passing the torch in the fight against Jewish persecution Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg and his IDF reservist grandson Uriel Goldberg on the enduring struggle for Jewish survival across the generations

by Michelle Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.com

“There’s no one else I would rather do an interview with,” says IDF reservist Uriel Goldberg, as he adjusts his microphone to take part in an extraordinary online discussion with me and his grandfather, Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg.

Uriel, 31, a reservist paramedic, is speaking from his army base in Israel; his 93-year old grandfather lives in Hendon and is a beloved Shoah survivor and educator.

The symbolism of having a grandson serving in the IDF defending the only Jewish state is not lost on Manfred. He says he “couldn’t feel prouder – he’s a remarkable young man and certainly has leadership abilities. It seems to come naturally. He has emerged as someone whose views are wanted. He’s coherent, literal, clear and factual. He tells things as they are. I’m very happy about it.”

Born on 21 April 1930 in Kassel, Germany, Manfred and family were unable to escape to join his father in Britain. Manfred spent the Holocaust in concentration and labour camps, losing his younger brother in 1943 and finally liberated from Neustadt in Germany on 3 May 1945.

Uriel Goldberg made aliyah from Hendon when he was 19. For many years he was a paramedic for Magen David Adom and now works as a public affairs manager in Israel for US-based fintech (financial and technology) bank Cross River.

Defending Israel as the eldest grandson of a Shoah survivor is

hugely symbolic for the two men.

The bond between them is evident.

Uriel says: “We’ve always been close even though we live in different countries. They come to Netanya and we speak all the time on Zooms and WhatsApp video calls.”

Manfred adds: “I can tell you one instance where Uriel was incredibly helpful. Years ago, with my wife, I paid my first visit to Yad Vashem.

I was so emotionally overcome I burst into tears and had to leave. For decades I could not bring myself to return until Uriel offered to accompany my wife Shary and me, to give me the strength to do this, and he did. As a result of Uriel’s support I managed to get through it.”

Uriel, smiling, says his grandfather “represents strength, being able to go through what he and obviously many others went through and to come out of it and to carry on with life and not to give up and to build a family. It’s something to emulate. I hope none of us will go through the same struggles, but it shows us how strong the human will to live and to continue is.”

On 7 October, Uriel and his wife Tamar, whose parents are from Uzbekistan, were staying with his saba and safta in Netanya. “They woke up at 6am because of the baby.

And at 6.30am our phones started exploding from alerts. Quickly, we understood what was going on. Also, the unit from the army told us to be on alert to be ready. So we went back home to be prepared. And then within an hour or two, I was already called up from Shabbat late morning. And I’ve been here since.”

Uriel is in a search and rescue

Uriel Goldberg, right, collecting donated medical equipment for the IDF

Uriel’s saba and safta, with their first great-grandchild, Itai Goldberg

unit based in east Jerusalem: “It’s a unit which day to day, we’re on alert, ready, waiting. Our role is to provide the response of any rocket attack. So if a rocket hits a building anywhere in the area and there’s a need for rescue, that’s our speciality.

“That’s what we’re facing at the moment. In the meantime, we’re doing a lot of civilian tasks. So there are a lot of people who have evacuated from the north and the south, and especially for those from the south who need assistance in the hotels. We’re there to give them the reassurance that the IDF is there for them and that we’re there to help.”

Manfred says 7 October was “stunning in several respects – the morning of Simchat Torah, one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar. Uriel had answered his phone and found out thousands of rockets were being shot into southern Israel and it sounded extraordinarily dramatic and cruel.

“We were getting used to the pleasure and privilege of becoming great-grandparents to a sabra. And ... this tragic event unfolded.”

Manfred says when he arrived in the UK in 1946, “politicians were

saying loudly and clearly, never again. And I believed that. I did not dream I would ever again experience either antisemitism or, unbelievably, Holocaust denial.”

He adds: “One of my revenges on the Nazis is being able to build a lovely family. Israel is living up to God’s promise that it should be a light unto the nations [but] the world seems too blind to see it.”

Uriel says “It’s everyone’s responsibility to do what they can for the Jewish people ... but I think I’ve been lucky and blessed to be able to make aliyah.”

Since the outbreak of the war, the Jewish diaspora has fundraised furiously to send essential medical and tactical equipment to the IDF. Uriel, who with his unit are personal recipients of that generosity, says: “We appreciate everything that’s been done and sent.

As someone in the IDF, to receive equipment and gifts and messages and letters from people we do know, people we don’t know, showing their support and their feeling and the need they have to be part of the war on behalf of Israel and do what they can has just been heartwarming.”

Many of the letters are posted on a glass wall behind Uriel. “It has given us strength.” he says.

“When we’re here for weeks in a row without going home, doing what we’re doing from early morning to late night, it gives us strength. We’re not doing it just for our own family We’re doing it for the wider community in Israel and outside Israel.”

Manfred agrees: “Overnight, when faced by a common emergency, the unity shown by the country of Israel, by the people, has been extraordinary – an example to the world of what the word unity truly meant or means. It is heartwarming. Please God it should continue. Israel needs to be unified.”

Uriel believes following the Holocaust what Israel is doing is “more than just surviving. I think also what my saba did after the war was a stage after surviving, It was also living.

And growing up from age 15 to 75, when he started speaking about his experiences, he wasn’t a survivor.

None of his family or friends knew what he’d been through.

“He didn’t show anything externally. And it was only a couple of years ago when he actually started speaking, that people realised what he had been going through. And I think that what we’re doing here today (in Israel) is more than just surviving. We’re not here just to be here. We’re here to live, we’re here to grow and to carry on the traditions as well.”

As our conversation draws to a close, Manfred Goldberg asks if he can send a personal message to his grandson. “I would address my message to God,” he says.

“May he protect you and all the brave soldiers of the country from harm, and may Israel succeed in its quest to ensure that such an atrocity can never ever be repeated.”

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 November 2023 Jewish News

9

ISRAEL AT WAR

Cognitive disconnect between faiths

BY PATRICK MORIARTY

TRUSTEE OF THE COUNCIL OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS It’s little surprise that Archbishop Justin Welby’s recent comments on Israel and Gaza have provoked some consternation.

The comments on his tweets fall into two predictable camps: those who regard him as naive, biased or actively hostile to Israel (and by extension to Judaism), and those who dismiss his call for a ceasefire as ‘too little too late’.

Being denounced on social media nowadays is an occupational hazard of leadership. More striking – and more heartbreaking – is the wider and deeper struggle of Jews and Christians to understand each other on this issue at all.

Jewish friends ask me: ‘Why are my Christian friends silent, when they were so supportive after previous antisemitic attacks… is it that they sympathise with Jews when they suffer but not when they have power?’

Christian friends ask me: ‘What’s happened to my Jewish friend? We usually see eye to eye on everything, so why can’t she see how all this looks?’

Two observations may make the archbishop’s comments, and the reactions or silence of Christians, a little more understandable.

First, while both Judaism and Christianity are ‘religions’, this blurs an important difference of emphasis: while Christianity is a ‘faith’ bound together by a set of beliefs and a world view, Judaism is also an ethnic group, a ‘people’ bound together by a commitment to clan and land at least as much as to theology.

Jews are traumatised by the grief over the brutal massacre and abduction of members of their extended family, perpetrated in the land of God’s promise, the only place on earth where they are not a minority.

While of course they understand this deep anguish, to Christians neither tribe nor territory has religious significance.

Indeed, much of the New Testament is preoccupied with saying they don’t, and presenting this as God’s expansive, universal liberation. Having been raised on that narrative, many Christians struggle to appreciate the boundaried nature of Judaism.

This failure of understanding can be traced through 2,000 years of antisemitism, but it hurts most at a time like this. A key part of contemporary dialogue therefore focuses on reconnecting Christianity to its historic and ongoing relationship with Judaism.

The archbishop explicitly denounced Hamas terrorism, affirmed Israel’s right to self defence and denied any moral equa-

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

tion between the two kinds of killing. He is sincere. If it doesn’t sound full-throated enough, we should remember Christianity’s categories are just not configured in the ways Jews might expect.

Second, for all that Christianity distorts and misappropriates its Jewish heritage, the one part it cherishes is the prophets – the strident righteousness of Amos and Isaiah, promising peace and championing justice.

However selectively and partially Christians read those texts, they nevertheless know they are Judaism’s gift to the world.

If Israel then appears lukewarm about pleas for humanitarian mercy, Christians are disoriented, to say the least.

‘It was Judaism that taught us about limits to vengeance, about care for the vulnerable, about compassion,’ they say, looking in horror and bewilderment as Gaza is laid waste. They absolutely know the barbarity perpetrated by Hamas but, having been allied to power for 1,700 years, they don’t feel it the way Jews do.

Hence their consternation: ‘Why isn’t Israel living its own values?’ The trouble is, Christians approach the justice issues of this conflict with their heads and hearts, while Jews – whose history means there are profoundly different stakes – are feeling it in their guts.

Archbishop Justin’s remarks may seem – may indeed be – politically naïve or factually under-informed. They won’t convey the intuitive empathy towards land and family that a Jewish audience is attuned to. But they come not from partisan hostility but from a heart deeply shaped by a Christian world view, and his friendship towards the Jewish community remains as solid and genuine as ever.  Patrick Moriarty is a trustee of the Council of Christians and Jews, an Anglican priest and former headteacher of JCoSS

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11

ISRAEL AT WAR

‘against every 83 charged over hate Atrocities sense of the faith I follow’ at Palestine protests the force of showing bias in favour More than 80 people have been of left-wing protesters. charged in the UK with hate She likened the demonstrations crimes and violence linked to to marches in Northern Ireland and pro-Palestinian protests since refused to make some of the edits the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas to the piece proposed by No 10. She conflict, writes Adam Decker. had pressed Met Commissioner Sir Thousands of demonstrators Mark Rowley to ban the pro-Paland counter-protesters have conestinian protest on 11 November, verged on London during the past which she branded a hate march. few weekends, leading politicians A few days ago, a 37-year-old to pressure the Metropolitan man was arrested in west London Police to take action. on suspicion of encouraging terThe force made nearly 400 rorism and showing support for a arrests between 7 October and 18 proscribed organisation.

November, 83 of whom have been Last week officers arrested a charged.

21-year-old man in Brixton Hill Scotland Yard said officers are examining images of protesters John Harvey admitted to criminal on suspicion of spraying pro-Palestinian graffiti on the shutters of linked to disorder on Armistice damage and is to be sentenced a shop, and a 22-year-old man on Day, using facial recognition to look The prime minister is also suspicion of making threats to kill at previous demonstrations and searching for suspects believed to looking to tighten the law to make while shouting antisemitic slurs in it easier to ban marches and pros- Stamford Hill. have committed hate crimes.

Scotland Yard said: “Our teams John Harvey, a 75-year-old pro- ecute those glorifying terrorism, are investigating hate crimes and tester from Hackney, east London, according to several newspapers.

Former home secretary Suella offences committed at protests. who threw red paint at the Israeli embassy on 11 November, will be Braverman wrote an article for the We know many people continue to sentenced next month after admit- Times on 8 November, accusing feel vulnerable.” ting to criminal damage.

Police are hunting 15 people who took part in a pro-Palestinian convoy of up to 80 cars on Saturday.

Officers are also searching for 20 men involved in counter-protests on Armistice Day. Rishi Sunak condemned “wholly unacceptable” actions by far-right groups and “Hamas sympathisers” on the day, insisting “all criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law”.

Wanted: police are searching for information about these suspects

“Peace is not impossible. It’s the Middle East minister Lord difficult pathway ahead, but Ahmad has made a “very peryou know what? We should sonal” condemnation as a never give up hope.” practising Muslim of the He added: “Let me be atrocities carried out by very clear – and make it Hamas on 7 October. very personal, and I speak as a In his speech at the ArabBritish Economic Summit, he Lord Muslim, if I may: any act of terror described the actions of the ter- Ahmad by anyone, anywhere, including those committed by Hamas, are rorists in Israel as being “against every sense of the faith I follow, indeed, against every sense of our common of any faith or belief around the world”. humanity, against every sense of the Lord Ahmad told the summit in faith I follow, indeed, of any faith or London that in his role “every day, every belief around the world.

“But equally, we should now really ounce of my effort... is to be focused on trying to shift that dialogue”. Turning focus and ensure that what’s hapto the need for progress in the conflict pening with the suffering of the people between Israel and Hamas he added: of Gaza is put to an end.”

Shapps: defence exports to Israel ‘relatively small’ the minister confirm whether UK defence exports to Israel arms sold by the UK have are “relatively small” and been used in violations of in line with the governinternational humanitarian ment’s licensing criteria, the law? And can he explain why defence secretary has said. arms sales to Israel have not He was responding to a yet been suspended?”

Labour MP who referenced Shapps said: “Actually, our the death of Palestinian civilians Grant in the fighting in Gaza and ques- Shapps defence exports to Israel are relatively small, just £42m last year tioned “why arms sales to Israel and… they go through a very strict crihave not yet been suspended”.

Grant Shapps said the UK is calling teria before anything is exported.”

He told the House that the govon all parties, including the Israelis, to ernment would not issue any export act within international law.

Labour’s Kim Johnson (Liverpool, licences to destinations where doing so Riverside) said that since 7 October was inconsistent with its criteria.

Shapps added: “There’s a principle “12,000 innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed and two-thirds are in international law that a country is women and children”. She asked: “Can able to defend itself.”

AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL AND MEDIA IMPARTIALITY

BY GEMMA RICKETTS

ELNET UK POLICY AND COMMS MANAGER

The recent news cycle has seen an unrelenting focus on the al-Shifa hospital, with ever increasing media scepticism turning into hostility towards and condemnation of Israel, as it searches for hostages and pushes forward with its mission to ensure Hamas is destroyed.

The images of the suffering within the hospital compound should underscore the cruelty of Hamas, as they continued to fight fiercely around the hospital rather than leave or capitulate.

Global rolling news, across almost every outlet, has taken the dangerous position that Israel are not to be believed in regards to Hamas’s presence in al-Shifa;

in spite of the irrefutable evidence of the CCTV footage that has emerged of a Thai and Nepalese citizen being brought into the hospital, not through Hamas’ tunnel beneath the hospital, but through the front door of the hospital itself.

The hostages were wrestled through the main entrance and, as the CCTV follows the hostages’ journey through the corridors of the hospital, the images show the medical staff holding doors open for one hostage on a stretcher, as well as their gun-toting and meat cleaver-wielding captors.

The images are full of witnesses, staff and casual bystanders, to Hamas using the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the 7/10 terrorist attack, and of hostages being present there. It is also hard to imagine a scenario in which the original construction of the tunnel, by Hamas and for Hamas, was not witnessed and at least commented on by medical staff and aid agencies operating out of the hospital.

The evidence shows the denials from medical staff and aid agencies such as Medical Aid for Palestine, the Red Cross,

The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to be what they truly are – a game of ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ in relation to terrorism and hostage taking.

Their denial of Hamas’ presence at the facility is now proven to be implausible and raises serious questions regarding their motivations.

It should shame the likes of the BBC and Sky News in regards to their soft-touch questioning of aid agencies (operating out of the hospital) and, in particular, regarding whether they knew of Hamas’ presence or that of the hostages – for which the answer to both questions is now a resounding yes.

The CEO of Medical Aid for Palestine, who was interviewed by Sky News, for example, managed to do an entire interview on the situation in al-Shifa with the only mention of Hamas being wrapped within a criticism of Israel for refusing to give them fuel.

The ultimate revelation of the CCTV footage from al-Shifa is that it casts serious doubts over the impartiality of aid agen-

cies and the talking heads of medical staff – both of which have effectively spent their time in the hospital as spokespeople for Hamas on Sky News and the like.

While some medical staff have spoken out regarding their knowledge of Hamas’ command and control centre within the hospital, albeit anonymously, others such as Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta (a familiar talking head on rolling news in the UK) has openly stated that his family have been visited by UK counterterror police which leads us to ask why media outlets have taken him at his word, vociferously criticising Israel and calling for a ceasefire, as an impartial voice of reason.

This sin of omission (in not revealing the truth about the hospital’s role in 7/10 and beyond) by staff and aid agencies may come from their fear of losing access to Gaza and the images which in effect promote Hamas’ cause, such as ceasefire; but the far worse sin is that of media outlets in refusing to acknowledge the irrefutable evidence that Israel has produced and in continually attempting to discredit them and their mission to find their hostages and eradicate Hamas.

12 Jewish News 23 November 2023

www.jewishnews.co.uk

ISRAEL AT WAR

UK dad of soldier killed in Gaza pays tribute to his ‘leader’ son A British-born father has paid tribute to his 21-year-old Israeli son, who was killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip over Shabbat, writes Joy Falk.

Rob Airley, the father of Sergeant Binyamin Meir Airley of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion, was speaking at his funeral on Sunday.

Sgt Airley lived in Beit Shemesh. He was one of six children of Rob and his wife, Jen. Airley was killed after entering a house that was being used by Hamas fighters. The house was blown up by an Israeli tank and Rob said Binyamin had gone in first, thinking – incor-

rectly – that the Hamas fighters inside would have been killed.

According to Israeli media reports, Airley’s parents made aliyah from the United States in 2006. Binyamin attended yeshiva, spent time in Eilat, and worked on the family’s farm, including most Shabbats.

“He personified modesty,” said Rob. “He would have hated all this, all these people for him.

He hated attention. He was loved and respected by everyone who came across him. He was a leader. He always wanted to be at the front.”

Rob said Binyamin was unlike other teenagers in that

he shunned smartphones and material possessions, saying: “You’d go into his room and there’d be nothing in there.”

Binyamin “hated taking money” from his parents, but loved Eretz Israel.

Quoting the late Rabbi Sacks, Rob said he had had “an amazing loving son, my hero… I loved showing him off to friends.” He added that Binjamin was “in an amazing place now. He’s happy. It’s a calamity for us but the best thing for him”.

He described his son as “a good-looking boy who distanced himself from girls until

the time was right”, adding: “If he wanted something, he just went out and got it. I’m glad that, if he had to go, he went in service to this amazing nation. This kid was unbelievable. Every home should have a Binyamin.”

Rob ended by saying that “as an Englishman, I’ve always hated hugs – until yesterday…

Since then, every hug has made me feel rejuvenated. We live in an amazing community with strong support for us”.

So far, Israel’s armed forces have released the names of 383 soldiers killed since the 7 October war with Hamas began.

Binyamin Meir Airley: ‘He was my hero,’ his father said

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Protesters outside Harrods ARRESTS AT STATION SIT-IN put Qatar’s role in spotlight As hopes were rising that a deal was being negotiated for the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas, a silent protest was held in central London, outside Harrods.

The department store has been owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, since May 2010, and the activ- The demonstration outside Harrods ists’ aims were to put pressure on Qatar to continue to work to secure were violently abducted and taken a deal, as well as to keep awareness into Gaza on 7 October.

Dmitri Krasik, one of the organof the hostages in people’s minds.

The protesters stood for 30 isers of last Thursday evening’s prominutes, their mouths taped shut test in Knightsbridge, said: “Qatar to symbolise the taking away of has the ability to be a peacemaker of the hostages’ voices. They held up the maker of widows and orphans.”

Qatar hosts Hamas’ leadership posters of the Israelis and foreign citizens, about 240 in total, who and is known to have been one of the

main financial backers of the government of Gaza, channelling about $10 million (£8m) a month to the terrorist organisation. But Qatar is also an ally of the United States and is brokering the talks between Israel and Hamas.

This week, Qatari mediators were seeking a deal that would include the release of about 50 civilian hostages in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, Reuters has reported. As part of the deal, some Palestinian women and children would be freed from Israeli jails and more humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza.

The protest ended with chants of ‘bring them home’ and singing of the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah.

Around 100 demonstrators were removed from London’s Waterloo station after holding a sit-in protest demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

The group chanted, “Free, free Palestine”; “Sit down, join us”; and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as they protested in the centre of the station.

Police officers surrounded the protesters before they were escorted from the station, with at least two demonstrators carried from the scene.

British Transport Police said at least five protesters were arrested at Waterloo station and no train services were affected.

A group of protesters who were removed then made their way to Westminster Bridge, where they sat in the road before moving to Parliament Square, the Metropolitan Police said.

The force said on X, formerly Twitter: “We believe the group in Parliament Square is a mix of pro-Pales-

The protest at Waterloo this week

tinian protesters and JSO [Just Stop Oil] activists. We have arrested a prominent JSO activist from within the group. We have a significant number of officers ready to respond if there is further disruption in the road.”

It comes as protesters held sit-in protests at major UK train stations despite increased policing across railway networks.

British Transport Police deployed enhanced officer patrols in England, Scotland and Wales last Saturday.

23 November 2023 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

13

ISRAEL AT WAR

Israeli refugees are overwhelmed by community support at JW3 event loved and new clothes, toys and books for Israeli families new to the UK. The feedback from Israeli families was overwhelmingly positive.

One attendee said: “I’m thankful for this beautiful, heartwarming event.”

Another wrote: “I just wanted to reach out personally with a huge thank you for yesterday. What an amazing team of mensches everyone was. Nice people, smiles and hugs. Very much needed for me and my kids aside from the information that we got. A huge thank you from the bottom of my heart. ” CRF is planning another pop-up soon. If readers would like more information or to support CRF, please see the website and Just Giving.

Non-profit Crisis Rescue Foundation ran a Vaxi Taxi/ Health and Wellbeing Pop Up for 60 Israeli refugees at JW3 on Sunday, supported by Jewish News.

There was a large team of CRF volunteers and professionals from the London Jewish community on hand to provide medical, dental, legal and education information, including GPs, a paediatrician, a surgeon, an obstetrician, a midwife, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, a physiotherapist, dentists, educators and a lawyer.

There were face-painting and art sessions for the children, wrapped toys ready for Chanukah provided by the United Synagogue, live music from Ivor Goldberg, delicious food from Bonjour, and lots of pre- Sunday’s event had a large team from Crisis Rescue Foundation

ers. They need your help now more than ever.

0203 375 6248 www.jewishlegacy.org.uk gina@jewishlegacygiving.org.uk

BIG TECH IS HIDING BEHIND THE FREE SPEECH MANTRA

BY ALEX BRUMMER CITY EDITOR, DAILY MAIL

The uncontrolled power of social media is truly frightening.

Efforts to roll back its extraordinary economic power or inhibit the scale of operations have been ineffectual. Whatever the abuse be it financial, pornography, incitement to violence or antiIsrael hate and antisemitism it is impossible to corral.

Two years ago, when Roman Abramovich was still in charge of Chelsea

Football Club, he organised a Stamford Bridge breakfast to combat antisemitism. Guest speaker Sharon Nazarian of the Anti-Defamation League in the US, warned TikTok was straying far from its perceived image as a fun place to watch dance videos.

She argued targeting 9-13 yearolds with uncensored, ill-informedmessages about Israel and the Middle East, with their underlying antiZionist, antisemitic messages, was capturing the minds of young people.

As long as TikTok, owned and controlled by China, avoids Beijing politics or advocacy of Taiwan, its output is largely untrammelled and unregulated. Economic and strategic relations between Beijing and Jerusalem

have strengthened. China, which buys arms and tech from Israel, is the nation’s second largest trading partner. Yet it has done nothing to prevent TikTok being occupied by Israel and Jewish hate.

Much of the British Jewish community’s venom since 7 October has been aimed at the BBC, the Guardian and other unfriendly outlets. The BBC has enormous influence globally; its reporting shapes public opinion. the Guardian online has tremendous reach in the US and Australia.

One may dislike the reporting, some of it shameful in its willingness to swallow Hamas propaganda, but content is monitored and complaints heard. Corrections, when they come, are mostly too late, as at the start of the IDF campaign when Israel accused the BBC of ‘blood libel’ over misreporting of the loss of life at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Social media, where most young people gather their news, is more insidious. Elon Musk was treated like

a conquering hero when he showed up at Rishi Sunak’s AI safety summit at Bletchley Park. Shortly after, Musk went on his own social media site X to endorse a hate tweet which alleged Jews stoked the same hatred about whites ‘they claim to want people to stop using against you’.

X may continue to propagate hate but US politicians will be fearful of outlawing the wrong-headed genius to whom the Pentagon has outsourced satellite surveillance of Ukraine and the Middle-East.

It is doubly unfortunate no one seems to have been listening to the Anti-Defamation League and warnings about how young minds at schools and American universities have been poisoned on Israel

by TikTok. In much the same way as social media was used by activists to propagate revolution (since largely crushed) in the Arab Spring, it has been ruthlessly exploited to stir up Islamic populations to demonstrate in London and other cities for Gaza.

Suella Braverman may have been defenestrated for using the term ‘hate marches’, but that is what they are.

Marches of hundreds of thousands don’t just happen. Emotions are stirred up by Palestinian activists, antisemites and the Socialist Workers Party on social media. Israel, among the most polyglot nations, with a two million-plus Arab minority, is labelled a colonialist power.

The audiences are so vast and the platforms so many that stamping on anti-Zionist propaganda and tropes is impossible, the equivalent of the ‘whack-a-mole’ fairground game.

Yet at the Bletchley summit it was agreed self-regulation by the tech behemoths was the way to go. AI, with its huge processing power, ought to offer the tools to kill internet hate. It won’t because the tech tribes have no interest in interrupting traffic.

Big tech hides behind the mantra of free speech but it is all about oligopoly power and accumulating riches beyond Croesus.

14 Jewish News 23 November 2023

www.jewishnews.co.uk

ISRAEL AT WAR

‘We have to be where Nathanel is buried’

by Jenni Frazer jenni@jennifrazer.com @Jennifrazer

The parents of Sgt Nathanel Young, killed in action with the IDF on the first day of Israel’s war with Hamas, made aliyah this week.

Chantal and Nicky Young, who had lived in the tight-knit community of Cockfosters and Southgate for more than 40 years, were arriving in Israel yesterday morning.

Three of their adult children, Gaby, Elliot and Daniel, already live in Israel. Another daughter is in the UK. The couple have four grandchildren, with four more expected soon.

Nathanel’s mother Chantal, a chef, told Jewish News: “We were always

going to make aliyah anyway, but what made us more confident we were doing the right thing was what happened to Nathanel. We just couldn’t be anywhere else now – we have to be where he is [Young is buried in Jerusalem] and where he fought for.”

She acknowledged her husband had not previously been “100 percent” behind the idea. “But now we just couldn’t think of anywhere else.

We have to be in Israel.”

Mrs Young, speaking on the eve of departure from London, said she had been looking at a picture of her son that morning. “Nathanel would have been so excited for us,” she said. “He so wanted us to come to Israel. He would have been phoning to make sure we had everything we need.”

Initially, home for the Youngs will be in Ramat Poleg, south of Netanya, while they decide where to settle down. Nicky Young has been working as a courier driver and formerly worked in a bank, but he and Chantal are “open to suggestions” about what they might do in Israel.

Mrs Young added: “Nathanel’s love of Israel convinced us this was the right thing to do; he was the driving force behind our decision.”

Last week, Nathanel’s sister, Gaby,

Nathanel Young, who was killed in action, with his mother, sister Gaby and brother Eliot and, left, with his parents

spoke of her “absolutely sickening and horrific” experience when a ceremony she was addressing online was hacked and daubed with swear words and a “free Palestine” slogan.

She had been invited by the Lone Soldier Centre in Memory of Michael Levin to speak in a ceremony honouring lone soldiers who died in the terror attacks.

In all, seven family members were due to speak.

Gaby said: “My biggest worries were having to speak in Hebrew, not my first language, and not welling up with tears on screen.”

But as the ceremony began on Zoom, what she called “an imbecilic hacker who went by the name ‘David’

started scribbling vulgarities on the screen, followed by a huge swastika over Nathanel’s picture – a giant ‘free Palestine’ sign also materialised during a memorial prayer”.

She told Jewish News that the organisers immediately ended the session and that a new link was sent out about 10 minutes later, enabling those present to pay tribute to their loved ones who had died in the service of Israel.

But, she said, far fewer people were able to attend the second event because the new link was not widely circulated enough, and many friends of Nathanel who had hoped to pay tribute to him were unable to attend the session.

Green councillor sorry for chanting A Green Party councillor has told Jewish News she “deeply regrets” using the inflammatory “From the river to the sea” chant as she joined a protest outside the office of an elected MP over the MP’s stance on the Gaza conflict, writes Lee Harpin.

Tower Hamlets councillor Nathalie Bienfait, the Greens parliamentary candidate for Poplar and Limehouse, was seen among a crowd of far-left pro-Palestine activists who congregated outside the office used

by Labour MP Rushanara Ali to protest after Ali failed to back an amendment tabled by the SNP in a Commons vote last Wednesday.

Ali was targeted by the activists as one of three Muslim shadow ministers who remained loyal to Labour leader Keir Starmer in the divisive vote, which led to protests and vandalism outside several MPs’ offices.

In footage obtained by Jewish News, Bienfait can be seen among protesters, many holding Socialist Workers Party placards, engaging in the chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, which symbolises a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.

Asked to comment, Bienfait said: “I deeply regret to say I was not aware of the implications of the chant when I attended that protest.

“I was informed of the meaning only after the protest. I can only apologise in the strongest possible terms for not informing myself

Nathalie Bienfait chants ‘from the river to the sea’ at a Tower Hamlets protest

better before attending the protest and taking part in the chanting.

“I was keen to attend the protest to put pressure on our elected representative Rushanara Ali to call for a ceasefire in the conflict in the Middle East, which I support.

“However, I also regret to say I was not aware MP Ali had already demonstrated support for a ceasefire prior to the protest and therefore my reason for attending the protest had already been achieved.”

Earlier this month, Bienfait submitted a motion on behalf of Tower Hamlets Green Party calling for a ceasefire in Gaza but it was rejected by the monitoring officer as being outside the council’s remit.

Bienfait’s use of the an anti-Israel chant at last week’s protest comes

amid rising concern about the conduct of the Green Party and several of its elected representatives in recent months and in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist atrocity in Israel on 7 October.

A social media post by the Greens immediately following last week’s Commons vote was widely condemned after it listed the name of every MP who had failed to back the SNP amendment calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The post also came with the claim “the Labour party is in chaos and is failing to deliver what constituents are demanding” over Gaza before adding, “Is your MP on the list?”

Many complained the Greens’ post came close to representing a “hit list” of MPs to be targeted by activists.

Former leader and Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas was among those to raise concerns about “language accompanying the Green Party graphic” listing the MPs, which she said was “misjudged”.

She added: “I had no prior knowledge before it was published but have raised serious concerns internally to ensure it won’t happen again.”

Lucas and Sian Berry, another former Greens leader, have also been among senior party figures attending Palestine events, many organised by the PSC, which has staged the weekly central London protests which have seen regular displays of antisemitic conduct.

leging of racism against The Jewish Labour Jews as more worthy of Movement has previously resources than other forms raised concerns about of racism.” the Greens in relation to Bird was expelled from antisemitism claims, and Labour in November the admission of activists 2021 over her support for previously expelled or the proscribed Labour suspended by Labour.

Jo Bird Against the Witchhunt Wirral councillor Jo Bird was confirmed earlier this year organisation. She previously proas the co-secretary of the Jewish voked anger with her flippant Greens organisation, despite her his- remarks at meetings about Labour’s tory of controversial statements in antisemitism crisis, repeatedly relation to the community, including joking that “due process” should be a claim she believed there is a “privi- known as “Jew process”.

Rockman’s Private Eye toon nominated Zoom Rockman’s final cartoon for Private Eye before he quit the satirical magazine after six years over its coverage of the Israel–Hamas war has been nominated for political cartoon of the year. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 5 December

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

World’s eyes are on Israeli TV satire that skewers BBC ‘bias’ Israel might be losing its PR war but, when it comes to humour, it’s winning by a landslide. Eretz Nehederet, the Israeli version of Saturday Night Live (SNL), has caught the world’s attention with its sketches lampooning the BBC, writes Jotam Confino.

The sketch depicting a BBC anchor interviewing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar went viral, greatly exaggerates the pro-Palestinian bias of which it has been accused, while highlighting some clearly problematic editorial decisions in its coverage of the war.

The insistence on calling Hamas terrorists “militants” as well as its factual mistakes have caused great anger among Israelis and diaspora Jews. But it’s not the first time Eretz Nehederet has taken a satirical shot at the British media giant.

“Some 12 years ago we did a sketch but it didn’t go viral because social media wasn’t as strong as today,” the lead writer for Eretz Nehederet, Itai Reicher, told Jewish News in an exclusive interview.

Reicher, who, together with a group of writers, comes up with ideas every week for the show, said the team usually focuses on what “infuriates” them, and what they feel strongly about, which is usually Israeli politics and “celebrities doing idiotic stuff around the world”.

“Normally, nobody in Israel gives a s*** about the BBC and superwoke campuses in the US,” Reicher

said, referring to another sketch the show did about pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism at American colleges.

“But when the Gaza war unfolded, we saw the unfair treatment Israel gets from the media and academia around the world. So I have to say, the BBC started it,” he added.

One of the events that convinced the team to make a sketch about the BBC coverage was the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion in Gaza City.

Hamas claimed an Israeli air strike at the hospital had killed 500 people.

Mainstream media around the

world, including BBC, immediately ran with the story, citing Hamas as the only source before Israel had a chance to respond. Israel later proved it was a failed rocket by Islamic Jihad that caused the explosion, a claim backed by the UK, US, Italy and France.

When asked if he thought the wildly popular BBC sketches would change people’s minds about Israel, Reicher replied humbly: “I never feel like the work we do is so meaningful that it changes the world. That’s not why I go to work. I’ve done this for 17 years. If my writing changed people’s minds, Netanyahu wouldn’t have

have somehow united Israel. Usually we criticise Israel. We love this country and love living here, we are patriotic. This is the first time we criticise those who criticise us and this appeals to many people who dislike us.

“I got many comments from people saying: ‘We didn’t know you loved this country, we thought you were self-hating.’ And I always ask them what they think I’ve been doing all these years if I didn’t love the country,” he said.

Reicher is used to being a darling of the left-wing and centre in Israel, with the show’s mocking sketches of Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition. But, after the BBC sketch aired, Reicher is finding himself being praised by the right-wing, been elected. We which he says “is a live in a strange lot more fun”. world where it’s “When the lefteasier to change wing compliments a person’s gender you it’s always, ‘Yes, it’s than to change alright. I liked the show.’ someone’s mind.”

When the right wing compliReicher said the show Itai Reicher ments you, it’s, ‘I love you so draws inspiration from much, you are amazing, what Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, to which he says is an you are doing is so important. I honour to be compared, as well as wanna bake you a cake.’ My family is “greats” in comedy, such as Jerry right-wing, so I wasn’t surprised. But Seinfeld. “SNL is something we don’t worry, in about a week they will inspire to be,” he said. Reicher also start hating us again. Eventually we said he feels that the BBC sketches will go back to our self-hating selves.”

WE BEST SERVE ISRAEL WHEN WE’RE UNITED

BY LIONEL SALAMA C0-FOUNDER, HOPE AGENCY

Fifty years ago, during the Yom Kippur War, I went to synagogue with my parents.

It was my first experience of a fundraising appeal for Israel and I naively asked if my pocket money could make a difference.

Israel was fighting for its survival and thousands of miles away, we gathered to watch a VHS recording from the News at Ten. We have more channels now, but the fear, anxiety and concern for Israel’s future is the same. And like that child aged 11, we all want to know what we can do to make a difference.

My passion for the Jewish world stems from seeing Israel prevail in the face of incredible adversity. During the Lebanon War, I was active in my university’s Jewish and Israel societies, as well as the campaign for Soviet Jews. Indeed, it was the fight for their freedom that catalysed my generation’s engagement in Jewish life.

Afterwards, I worked for the Union of Jewish Students and the European Union of Jewish Students, where I supported students who were at the forefront of defending Jewish rights. For example, in Sunderland, where the infamous UN Resolution 3379 (‘Zionism is racism’) was

used to ban the Jewish society and was then overturned, at protests when US president Ronald Reagan visited the graves of former SS officers in Bitburg and for the campaign to drive the newly-elected president of Austria, former SS officer Kurt Waldheim, out of office. ‘Never again’ was always in our thoughts.

In some ways, I’m pleased our children have not had to be involved in such campaigning – though perhaps the Jewish pride and confidence of this generation is a little lacking as a result. Life on campus is dire right now, which is why one of my first responses after 7 October was to connect mental health experts with UJS to create a support mechanism for its members.

It’s not just the students who are traumatised by the growth in antisemitism but, if our community is to do its best for Israel, we need some perspective. Social media makes things a lot harder. We have to accept it’s a battle we can’t win and so if it upsets you, avoid it.

Our demonstrations are never going to be anything like as big, but they will remain dignified. However, we cannot let our fears about life here stop us from doing more for Israel.

And we need to do it with a sharper focus, more energy and the leadership that galvanised our community – young and old – into delivering the best for her in previous conflicts. Staging 30

Last month’s Trafalgar Square rally for Israel

fundraising appeals makes no sense. We need to follow the model of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). When DEC responds to disasters all over the world it does so as a single appeal, incorporating a group of charities.

All the needs are intelligently addressed under one campaign target. We have to implement the same model because the scale of Israel’s need is that of a disaster – 250,000 Israelis are now internally displaced persons.

The psychological needs are huge, as is the need for emergency financial support. Everyone needs to come together under one brand for the next 12 months.

Bigger and louder campaigning for the release of the 238 hostages is also vital. The dif-

ferent initiatives are well-intentioned, but more investment in a single campaign will ensure this fundamental issue is kept in front of those who can make a difference until every hostage is home and safe. Otherwise those in government, who have been so strong on this, will move on to the next issue as soon as it demands their attention. Sustaining share of mind costs money, but it works. I was co-founder of REFUSENIK, a campaign that used professional advertising in national newspapers to counteract the slick PR machine of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Last, the morale of our community needs to be sustained. Five weeks in and everyone is understandably exhausted by the relentless coverage. No one really needs another briefing on where it’s at. In fact, they need a little respite from all of this, the space to laugh, to sing, to do whatever will give them time out, so they can return refreshed and uplifted for the next stage of what we know is a going to be a long haul. A range of activities to deliver these breaks needs to be organised as soon as possible.

We have the capacity to do far more good for Israel; there are significant financial and human resources that can be called upon. I’ve seen and experienced just how great we can be for Israel and the future of our community here.

We need to find that spirit again and fast.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Roblox renews pledge on hate content Popular online game Roblox says it continues to do all it can to monitor antisemitic content, two weeks after Jewish News flagged the issue, writes Candice Krieger.

The massive multiplayer game played by millions of children enables users to take part in various activities and create their own worlds and avatars. It has been overwhelmed with antisemitic and antiIsrael content since 7 October.

Roblox said it had already acted against several users after Jewish News contacted it about disturbing images on the site, including burning Israeli flags.

Some of the screenshots were created by users as a hangout for pro-Palestinian protests.

Roblox, with over 70 million daily users, also said it had removed “experience content – including the Rally for Justice experience” – where burning Israeli flags were seen next to a Jihadist flag – as it “was found to be in violation of the company’s community standards”.

A spokesperson said: “We have already taken action against a number of users as a result of our investigation and will continue to do so. We have also removed experience content – including the Rally for Justice experience – that was found to be in violation of our community standards. Our trust and safety team operates 24/7 and will continue to act to protect the safety and civility of our community.”

Jewish News contacted Roblox again this week about further disturbing screenshots, including an avatar holding a Nazi SS placard, one saying Israel with a pig emoji, one with a poo emoji and another that stated: “Israel kimak” – ‘kimak’ is Malaysian slang for motherf*****.

The spokesperson added: “We have a dedicated team focused on proactively identifying, and acting on, any content or user behaviour that glorifies or promotes terrorist or extremist organisations or promotes hatred against individuals or groups in any way... we are also constantly strengthening the technology and filters we use to identify violating content and behaviour, as well as content blocked by our moderation systems.”

One of the offending screenshots, featuring a Nazi SS placard

MEDIA MONITOR QUESTIONS JOURNALISTS’ ROLE IN ATTACKS A dispute looks set to continue between media monitoring group HonestReporting and media outlets Reuters, CNN, Associated Press and the New York Times over the role of Palestinian photo-journalists on 7 October.

HonestReporting says it stands by “the legitimate questions we raised”, and the “answers we received only raised more questions that have yet to receive a response”.

It follows an online article by HonestReporting asking questions about the freelance photojournalists, who supplied pictures to the four outlets of the start of the 7 October attacks.

In their initial response, the four companies said they did not have prior knowledge of the attacks. HonestReporting executive director Gil Hoffman told Reuters he was “relieved”, but added: “We raised questions, we didn’t give

answers. I still very much think the questions were legitimate and the answers were adequate from the media organisations themselves.”

Reuters said it had acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of 7 October and with whom it did not have a prior relationship.

The HonestReporting article sparked a

furore among Israeli government ministers, some of whom appeared to believe that the Palestinian photojournalists – and thus the media outlets — had known about the Hamas attacks in advance.

The foreign ministry wrote on Twitter/X that the use of the various images by the four media groups was “a serious violation of journalistic ethics”.

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18 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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23 November 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

BBC’s former TV chief calls for review of ‘egregious bias’

The BBC’s former director of televi- particular criticism, saying that sion has called for an independent her own social media platform was review into the corporation’s cov- “biased, unbalanced” and “reads erage of the Israel-Hamas war, like a series of press releases from accusing one diplomatic corre- Hamas central command”.

The former BBC controller spondent of showing pro-Palestine Cohen called for an inquiry into the bias, writes Joy Falk.

Danny Cohen, who was director corporation’s wider coverage folof BBC Television between 2013 lowing a series of rows as he wrote for the Daily Telegraph. and 2015, claimed the Jewish He said: “Day after day, community in this country Hawley reposts messages was “being harmed through its and photographs from unbalanced reporting” since Gaza without context or any the Hamas terrorist atrocities. apparent attempt at basic Cohen singled out Carojournalistic verification. line Hawley, the corpora“There is barely a tion’s diplomatic cormention of the 7 October respondent, for Danny Cohen

massacres or the ongoing plight of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

“So why has Hawley been allowed to continue to report in such a biased, unbalanced way? Is the BBC OK with her reporting or unable to control it? This is a question it must urgently answer.”

Cohen added that “the BBC’s credibility with the Jewish community is reaching a point of no return”.

He said: “With these incidents piling up on a daily basis there is only one conclusion to draw.

“Either the BBC’s senior management is complicit in these egregious examples of bias, these regular breaches of its guidelines, or it lacks

the ability to control the output of its own organisation.”

Michael Ellis, the former attorney general for England and Wales, backed Cohen’s call for an independent inquiry of the broadcaster’s coverage.

The senior Conservative MP and KC told the Telegraph: “The BBC is still concealing the contents of a report conducted nearly 20 years ago that was commissioned because of allegations then of BBC bias against Israel in its reporting on the Middle East.”

The Telegraph said that just 18 of the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Hawley’s 195 tweets and

retweets made since the IsraelHamas war began on 7 October have mentioned Israeli deaths, casualties and hostages taken into Gaza, including case studies of families captured.

A BBC spokesman said: “We take complaints about social media use very seriously, especially on such a sensitive and contested subject, and investigate accordingly.

“Impartiality is crucial for BBC news staff, and our guidelines require them to reflect a wide range of opinion in their social media.”

The spokesman added: “We will continue to remind all our journalists of their responsibilities.”

POLICE ASK FOR HELP ON CONVOY POSTER-RIPPER IS IDENTIFIED Police are seeking the public’s help to identify 15 people who took part in a pro-Palestinian convoy of as many as 80 cars.

Officers became aware of a convoy of vehicles displaying Palestinian flags driving into central London at around 10.15pm last Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.

It is believed the cars had set off from a car park in Hancock Road, Tower Hamlets, east London.

Road policing units, public order teams and a helicopter were deployed to intercept the convoy and the cars were held in Exhibition Road, South Kensington, the force said.

A dispersal order was put in place and one

vehicle was seized, with fixed penalty notices for various road traffic offences issued to 18 drivers. A further nine vehicles were served with prohibition notices after defects were found, making them unfit for use.

The Met said officers have since discovered the convoy stopped twice on major roads – the A13 and the Limehouse Link Tunnel – on its way into London, causing danger to other road users.

Police have shared images of the people they want to identify, and have asked anyone who can help to call 101 and reference 4237915/23 and the number in the bottom corner of the images.

Jewish News has identified the man caught ripping down posters of the kidnapped hostages in Mill Hill at the weekend as a financial analyst in his mid-50s.

A member of the Jewish community, who asked not to be named, said he encountered the individual, who Jewish News is choosing not to name at this time for legal reasons, outside an out-of-business restaurant on Mill Hill Broadway.

The community member told Jewish News: “The restaurant had gone out of business and its front window was covered in posters.

“There were about 100 posters on the

window and by the time I reached him, he had ripped down about 20 of them.

“I asked him what he thought he was doing and whether it made him feel big and strong to be taking down pictures of women and children.”

Challenged, the poster-ripper did not reply but instead walked away. He was wearing a baseball cap with the insignia of the Deutsche Bank, for which the individual is believed to have previously worked.

After their encounter, the Jewish man returned to Mill Hill Broadway — and found that new posters had been put up to replace those torn down.

Guardian still has lots for Bin Laden fans

BY RICHARD FERRER

EDITOR, JEWISH NEWS The Guardian has been forced to do something it desperately seeks to avoid: take down content from its website.

Osama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America‘, his antisemitism-filled justification for terrorism, had for more than 20 years been given its own page on its website. But this week that page was being shared so widely and becoming so influential – viral in the worst sense of that word – that last Wednesday The Guardian had to remove it.

A spokesman for the media group said: “The transcript published on our website in 2002 has been widely shared on social media without the full context. Therefore we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that

originally contextualised it instead.”

It is doubtless still available in other corners on the internet. But, being for the most part Islamist, those sites tend to be in Arabic. The Guardian does, however, have more for the TikTok Bin Laden fan club to enjoy. From 2001, the year before the late al-Qaeda chief’s memo, we find a headline all antisemites adore: ‘Israel simply has no right to exist.’

This Guardian comment piece opens with the idea that the author, Faisal Bodi, says first came to him when he was a student: that “the sympathy evoked by the Holocaust was a very handy cover for Israeli atrocities”.

A Guardian reader, settling into their armchair, might now look forward to an argument being developed. Except they will find only dismissive statements and more of the now stale student mantra: “Israel has no right to exist” and “Certainly there is no moral case for the existence of Israel”.

Bodi also upset many of his

co-religionists when he wrote in The Guardian, in 2002, that Muslims such as himself felt they “have no social contract” with Britain.

Until May this year, he was press officer for (and a director of ) the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC). While I have no specific details about Bodi’s role in the IHRC, that organisation appears to have worked hard to defend the Rev Stephen Sizer, the same reverend the Church of England barred from ministry for 12 years because of what it called his “virulently antisemitic posts”. A page on the IHRC website still urges people to tweet their support for him. At the bottom of Bodi’s piece about Israel, The Guardian inserted a series of hyperlinks. The final link took the reader to the website of an organisation not mentioned in the article but one the newspaper thought useful: Hamas.

That link now takes the reader to a Malay casino website. Had Hamas maintained its web address from 2001, then it is possible that, on 7

October this year, a Guardian reader might have been able, through the paper’s website, to watch a livestream of its day’s work.

Last month, more than 20 years after they first published Bodi’s thoughts, The Guardian’s comment editors again sought out an extreme voice, this time that of an Israeli academic historian. Raz Segal wrote a piece with a headline The Guardian had had on its paste key for two decades: ‘Israel must stop weaponising the Holocaust.’

Let us return to Hamas, though, and the respectability The Guardian handed it nine years ago so it could smear Israel. The newspaper published, and still has on its website, a plea by Ahmed Yousef, a close adviser to the organisation’s leadership: “Judge Hamas on the measures it takes for its people.”

Civilised countries now see Hamas, and the government of Iran, for what they are. In 2014, however, Yousef was telling Guardian readers that too easily the world has

“succumbed to the Israeli establishment’s propaganda that the group is akin to al-Qaida and/or a front for Iran and/or a combination thereof”.

When he was not trying to convince the West of Hamas’ intrinsic benevolence, he was writing books; the title of one of these has been translated as The End of the Jewish State: Just a Matter of Time.

The questions for The Guardian are many. Chief among them are: considering that Hamas has butchered, raped, tortured and burnt 1,200 innocent people in Israel, and taken 240 hostages into Gaza so that it can conduct ongoing, hourly, psychological torture, how sound does The Guardian think its editorial decisions have been?

In light of the ‘Letter to America’, does The Guardian still think it should have these pieces on its website?

Update: The Guardian response to this column: “We have nothing further to add.”

20 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Uni responds to Jewish fears

‘WE NEED HARD DIPLOMACY’

However, statements by individual staff and students, or by collective bodies such as trade unions, should in no way be taken as the corporate view of the university itself.”

In response, the university staff member who made Jewish News aware of the vote, said: “From my experience, Prof Roseneil and the university leadership team have been quite good at trying to navigate the situation through various statements and staff updates.”

They added that the university is “reticent to challenge head-on the unflinching anti-Israel discourse that the union and the associated academics enforce throughout campus and in lessons. The university leadership team knows the impact the Sussex UCU motion has on Israeli and Jewish staff and students.”

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has returned from Labour’s first visit to Israel and the West Bank since the Hamas atrocities.

In Israel, he met with politicians including President Isaac Herzog after David Lammy calling for a “longer pause” to the conflict to alleviate the “shocking humanitarian emergency” in Gaza. Lammy also met in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority’s deputy foreign minister, Amal Jadu.

Sir Keir Starmer has been battling a rift in his party, with eight frontbenchers having resigned to defy his position and vote in the Commons to support a ceasefire.

From Israel, Lammy criticised the international allies for failing to realise the threat posed

by Hamas before the 7 October bloodshed and urged them to “learn the lessons of decades of failure to resolve this conflict”.

He said political leaders had been complacently “content with the delusions of wishful thinking” while failing to work for a two-state solution.

Lammy added: “Hard diplomacy is required with all governments in the region to deliver a longer pause immediately to respond to the shocking humanitarian emergency in Gaza, secure the release of hostages so cruelly taken

by Hamas and as a necessary step to an enduring cessation of violence.”

A Sussex University staff member has questioned a statement by its vice chancellor expressing concern for the safety of Jewish and Israeli teachers, writes Michelle Rosenbeg.

In a letter to Jewish News, Sussex University vice chancellor and president professor Sasha Roseneil said she was ‘concerned’ that a collective of 258 Sussex UCU members backed a motion that referred to Israel ‘war crimes’, ‘apartheid’ and ‘genocide’.

Roseneil added: “The Sussex branch of UCU – one of three trade unions – is an important part of our campus community. However, UCU is not the university. As vice-chancellor, I have been clear with colleagues and students that antisemitism and all forms of racism, harassment or discrimination, are totally unaccep-

258 Sussex UCU members back the motion

table. Freedom of speech and academic freedom are the precious foundations on which Sussex, like all universities, rests, and must be protected and actively advanced. I defend the right of all at Sussex to express themselves openly, with kindness, respect and within the rule of law.

Councillors ‘threatened’ over Gaza

James Giles and Jamal Chohan

A local councillor who previously worked as George Galloway’s campaign chief is behind a letter emailed to every elected colleague in England and Wales, which threatens to name them if they refuse to call for a Gaza ceasefire.

Independent Kingston councillor James Giles co-authored the demand with the Conservative councillor Jamal Chohan,

along with the template of a letter sent to both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, which claimed antisemitism has been “weaponised” to protect Israel since 7 October.

The email, sent to more than 19,000 district, county and unitary councillors, and which has been seen by Jewish News, included the threat: “We will also be publishing the names of those who have been

invited to sign but choose not to, in the interest of accountability”.

After the email sparked a backlash from many councillors, the organisers said they would not publish the list.

In an interview with The National, Chohan said he felt “isolated” with his stance on Gaza.

More than 300 councillors, across all parties, signed the letter.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Where is the female cry for women abused by Hamas?

Feminist groups speak up for women everywhere... but not in Israel

BY BRIGIT GRANT I’m screaming, but no one can hear me. That’s because the scream is inside my head.

And it gets louder with every denial, libel and slur. Of Israel.

No other country has been put under the same microscopic scrutiny. No other country has been hounded and besmirched for not toeing the line while defending its own people.

Those who try to defend Israel on TV and radio know deep down that facts are just white noise for the detractors as their minds aren’t big enough to change.

But it’s the smart and silent who truly offend, because they stand up for everyone else, but can’t find the words to speak up for Israel.

I’m talking about women and feminists in particular. Those strident females, who have fought tooth and talon for Afghan, Saudi, Iranian, Pakistani, Yazidi and Ukrainian women, but can’t express any compassion for the women who were sadistically tortured, mutilated, raped and burned in Israel.

The #MeToo lobby plead for their own survivors of abuse, yet they can’t get it together to plead for the women who were abused on 7 October and did not survive.

Doesn’t that make you want to scream like a girl for those girls?

This week I was told about a 14-year-old Israeli girl who was raped and then shot in the head.

I heard this hideous fact while attending the Jerusalem Press Club conference on the topic of sexual abuse perpetrated by Hamas.

I didn’t want to attend. No one with any perceptivity would, but it was necessary. I just wish I could have taken the entire world with me.

Then everyone would have heard the testimony of Sheri, an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservist who dealt with the identification and burial of the murdered female soldiers and festival goers.

An architect by profession, Sheri (her full name cannot be shared under military guidelines) whispered an apology before relating what she and three others – a forensic doctor, dentist and army photographer – had witnessed at

Israeli soldiers walk past Israeli victims of the Hamas attacks. Inset: Shani Louk was kidnapped from a music festival before being paraded and murdered by terrorists

the mortuary as part of the IDF Rabbinate’s reserve unit.

Intent on not overplaying or underplaying the scenes there, Sheri described the bodies piled to the ceiling when she arrived and trucks pulling up with more.

She talked about the “painstaking process of identifying fingerprints, dental records and DNA”

never envisaged for herself. But she and the team did what they could, so the mothers of these girls could see their dead daughters.

“The body bags were still dripping with blood for three days,” said Sheri, adding: “Forgive me.” She was concerned that this was too much for us to hear.

But how can it be? Justice for

❝

THE WORLD, AND SPECIFICALLY THE FEMALE WORLD IS NOT THERE FOR THE VICTIMS. UN WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS HAVE NOT GIVEN PROPER RECOGNITION TO THEIR MASSACRE AND MASS RAPE and added all three were not possible in many cases because of the mutilation.

Admitting that the endless retelling was hard for her, Sheri persevered. Just as she did around the clock from 8 October as the unit tried to identify and then prepare the bodies for Jewish burial.

Wrapping mutilated women in white linen was a challenge this daughter of Holocaust survivors

these victims relies on knowing the truth.

On knowing that hundreds of women who were slain so viciously arrived at the morgue in bloodied underwear, no underwear or, in the case of one young woman, with a grenade placed inside her body.

That was the moment the unit had to evacuate for their own safety.

The memory of those victims with eyes open and hands clenched will

n e v e r l e a v e Sheri, and though there wasn’t time to process the sorrow that now fills her being, she felt very proud of the love her team had for the victims.

She even made mention of the brightly-coloured nails of the young women. Manicures that had been done to look beautiful and that they would then go home to show their husbands and boyfriends.

A moment of joy that was stolen forever. The observation hit hard.

Sheri says that this was when she cried. “We treated these women with the respect we would give our own daughters,” she said.

But the world, and specifically the female world, is not there for them. Women’s organisations within the United Nations have not given proper recognition to the massacre and mass rape of these victims.

The UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has talked about “the gendered dimensions of conflict” without laying out the brutality inflicted on women

during the horrific attack in Israel.

Yet speaking out in defence of women all over the world is what both groups supposedly excel at.

Perhaps the feminists, academics and human-rights-organisations have been too preoccupied with other mass sexual abuse/ murder crimes elsewhere to divert their empathy towards Israel.

Even revered feminist icon Gloria Steinem has been unable to rouse support and Ms, the magazine she helped to found, has failed to file a story.

Ditto on other feminist websites globally and the UK’s New Feminist is more concerned about Shamima Begum being marooned in the ruins of her bad decisions. For bad decisions, look again at the UN Women statement that “condemns the attacks on civilians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” without a hint of a Hamas mention, while adding that “Israel’s efforts to have civilians evacuate Gaza so it can root out the terrorists is extremely dangerous”.

Is it a wonder I am screaming when these women are not?

When these women are nowhere to be seen on X (formerly Twitter) where the asinine accusers splurge their lies and lamely target Tracy-Ann Oberman for sharing the bona fide sexual abuse report by Jewish News journalist Jotam Confino.

Elon Musk should seriously consider changing X to Y. “Show us the evidence” typed the cowardly keyboard warriors, who might even believe that rape in a war zone is a crime – except, that is, when the victims are Jews.

Though it was late when I saw that, I replied to many with putdowns that belied what I really wanted to do to them.

As for showing them the evidence, I’d be thrilled if someone would. In the face of so much denial and silence, forcing everyone to watch the horrific acts perpetrated by sub-humans with the blessing of their depraved leaders should be compulsory. Perhaps a few of them might even scream.

Why should it just be me?

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 November 2023 Jewish News

23

ISRAEL AT WAR

Lineker shares ‘Israel genocide’ media post BBC presenter Gary Lineker is at the centre of renewed criticism after he endorsed a video in which an academic described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “textbook genocide”, writes Lee Harpin.

The Match of the Day host shared an interview conducted by Owen Jones with Raz Segal, an associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University in New Jersey.

Speaking to Guardian columnist Jones, Segal said: “We have both the intent and dynamics of violence on the ground [in Gaza], and because the intent is expressed so explicitly and so directly [by Israel] in such unashamed ways, and it’s continued to be expressed in this way, then I do think that what we’re seeing in front of our eyes is a textbook case of genocide.”

Sharing the interview with his 8.7 million followers onTwitter/X, Lineker, 62, wrote that it was “worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time”.

The presenter faced claims he had failed to respond to the Hamas terrorist

Gary Lineker and Owen Jones’ X post he shared and endorsed

outrage in Israel.

In response the Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis said: “Gary, any chance you can finally comment on the vile antisemitism that we’ve seen on the streets of the UK? Any condemnation of the scum who desecrated a war memorial with graffiti?

“Do you agree with your mate Owen that the British Empire is to blame for LGBT discrimination in Gaza, or do you point the finger at Hamas? Just asking as you are such a colossus on international

relations and global conflict.”

Another X user wrote: “BBC’s Lineker endorses video in which Israel is accused of ‘textbook genocide’. The taxpayer shouldn’t be forced to pay for this level of ignorance. Lineker needs to get down from his self-appointed pedestal.”

Lineker was previously embroiled in a debate over social media use in March.

The host called out the then-home secretary Suella Braverman for her comments comparing migrant crossings to an “invasion” and claiming that the UK is being “overwhelmed”.

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CST CALLED IN TO TOP BOYS’ SCHOOL One of London’s most prestigious private schools, University College School in Hampstead, has called in an outside organisation run by Maccabi GB and CST, after a pupil was filmed making obscene gestures and declaring “Free Palestine, f*** Israel”, writes Jenni Frazer.

A video of the pupil was widely circulated online. It was claimed by other students that he took part in at least two other incidents, in which he made offensive references to Jewish people.

Three weeks ago UCS launched an investigation, telling Jewish News at the time that “we are determined that the school should be a safe space for everyone, where all members of the community are treated with the same kindness and respect. Intolerance has no place at UCS”.

It is understood that after its inquiry, the teenage student was given a threeday suspension and has

since returned to school – although UCS would not confirm this directly.

Instead, in a statement, the school said it was operating under its own behaviour and discipline policy, adding: “Ultimately, the school makes judgments that seek to balance the welfare of both individuals and the community; outcomes of major disciplinary and pastoral matters therefore often combine a mix of sanction, education and community service.”

Now UCS has called in Stand Up!Education, a government-funded interfaith programme in which educators from both Jewish and Muslim backgrounds work with school students aged 11-18, talking to them about discrimination, racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia.

UCS says the programme’s staffers will visit the school “and further educate our young people about tolerance and responsibility”.

24 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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ISRAEL AT WAR

‘I hope this recording is in vain, but if not... I love you’ At 6:30am on October, 24-year-old Nehoray Levy was having the time of his life at the Nova music festival in Kibbutz Re’eim. Levy was looking forward to seeing fellow Israelis he’d met while traveling the world just three weeks before to the festival, writes Joy Falk.

“Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. People were happy. You could see pure happiness in people’s faces and people’s smiles,” Levy told Jewish News in an interview.

“Then as I took a rest from dancing, I just started to hear noises like bombing, explosions.

I wasn’t sure what that was. As soon as I turned my head up, I looked at the sky and I saw hundreds of missiles over our heads,” Levy said, describing how panic quickly spread at the party, as many of those attending came from the north and weren’t as used to rocket sirens as he was growing up in Ashkelon.

“I tried to reassure those not used to it, telling them everything was okay. It’s just another missile attack. But after a few minutes we started to hear gun fire. We couldn’t have even begun to understand how big it was and how many terrorists would come our war. Many people were panicking and running all over the place.

“We were so disoriented because of the missiles and the gunfire so we thought maybe the IDF and the army would jump in the area and take control,” he said.

What happened next was a nightmare unfolding in real time. Dozens of Hamas terrorists appeared on ATV’s trucks, motor bikes and on foot, all with one aim; to kill as many people as possible and to take hostages.

“They had so many grenades, RPGs and heavy weapons. They started to shoot everywhere. We were sitting ducks. There is nothing you can do in this situation. You feel so helpless, because you are looking at death itself. When you see someone kill your friends in front of your eyes and laughing as they do it, you are definitely looking at the devil’s eyes and you realise; this the end... this is it,” Levy said.

Levy described the Hamas terrorists as “vampires,” wanting more blood. “They started to rape the girls and I just started to run. I saw them taking the girls and the boys. I could hear the screams. I know it’s hard but you can’t understand when someone is just screaming for their lives, or when they are being tortured or when a girl is getting raped – the screams.”

Like everyone else, Levy started to run, with no direction in mind. “As I’m running, I’m looking from my left to my right. I see people falling down around me as they are getting shot and it is so hard because people are screaming for help, people who you were dancing with and laughing with a few moments ago and you can’t do anything. You just hear their voices screaming. Screaming for their life,” he said.

Hamas searched for people to kill everywhere, Levy said, in cars, in the bushes, behind the bar, and behind every refrigerator.

“I served in the special unit in the IDF for three years and as an instructor for three years, and I know how the fighters look for stuff, and how a good soldier looks. There few of the Hamas terrorists who were really trained. You

Nehoray Levy films a goodbye message to his parents as terrorists close in. He survived the attack on the music festival

could see that as they were scanning the area and as they were shooting. Their skills were beyond someone who would just grab a gun to shoot people,” he said.

Realising that he stood no chance against the heavily armed terrorists, Levy ran towards a field of trees where he attempted to hide. But it didn’t take long before he could hear them closing in on him. “That was the moment I thought ‘I am not going to make it’. I recorded a goodbye video to basically say that goodbye, that I loved mum and dad and thanked them for everything. I recorded it and thought that if something will happen, my family will get my phone and watch what I recorded,” he said.

Levy said he was on the phone to his dad as the massacre was ongoing, but told him not to worry. Eventually, after hiding under a tree for some 15 minutes, he decided to run.

“Just pray and run. That’s it. It’s like roulette – if you get shot you get shot. If you don’t get shot, it’s a miracle. I took a video of myself running in case something happened to me, where you can even hear all the whistling of the bullets flying next to me. But none of them hit me.”

Levy then said he found between 15 and 20 people from the festival who had decided to run in the same direction. They ran together nonstop, 15 kilometres, dehydrated and drunk from the party. Suddenly an Israeli man in his jeep appeared and took them with him.

The roads, he said, were full of bodies from the massacre. The group finally arrived in Patish, a Moshav in southern Israel, where another Israeli man hid them in a bomb shelter.

“Everyone started to throw up. After five minutes we heard people screaming on the ground and from upstairs ‘terrorists, terrorists!’ Go out from the shelter, everyone... just evacuate from there because there are terrorists coming.’ We were terrified. We thought we were finally in a safe place. But no,” Levy said.

They ended up running for their lives yet again, until another man in a different house locked them in a safe room where they stayed until the army came at around 11pm.

“I lost so many beautiful friends that day,

peace-loving people who never harmed anyone.

The world must know what kind of monsters Hamas are,” he said.

Watch Nehoray’s video jewishnews.co.uk

IT’S TIME TO RECLAIM OUR MAGEN DAVID

26 Jewish News 23 November 2023

www.jewishnews.co.uk

ISRAEL AT WAR

Musk endorses X post accusing Jews of ‘hate’ X owner Elon Musk has endorsed a virulently antisemitic post on his social media platform. The post accused the “Jewish community” of pushing “dialectical hatred” against white people.

Musk agreed with the post, stating: “You have said the actual truth.”

Musk made the comment Musk’s reply to the hate post after a user posted a video that is The platform, formerly known part of a campaign against antisemitism, showing a father repri- as Twitter, featured in a report on manding his son for posting antise- Tuesday by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate saying X conmitic remarks on the internet. tinues to host posts that The original statement that breach platform rules for Musk agreed with said: promoting antisem“Jewish communities itism, Islamophobia, have been pushing anti-Palestinian the exact kind of hate and other dialectical hatred hateful rhetoric against whites that in the wake of the they claim to want Israel-Gaza crisis. people to stop The document using against them.” was published amid Musk’s reply several warnings of a appeared to show the rise in hate speech and conversation had four misinformation on X and million views.

Elon Musk

Lawyer accused in row over massacre denials

other social media platforms following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

It found 200 hateful posts that were published after the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October – all of which either directly addressed the ongoing conflict or appeared to be informed by it.

Despite X having a full week to process the reports, researchers found it continued to host 98 percent (196) of the 200 posts.

Responding to an X user who said it was unfair to make generalisations about Jewish communities promoting hatred toward white people, Musk wrote the person was “right that this does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL”.

In another post, he wrote: “I am deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind. I’m sick of it. Stop now.”

Jewish News has contacted X for comment.

A specialist criminal defence lawyer has retweeted social media posts denying the atrocities carried out by Hamas on 7 October.

Ash Ahmed, with ASL Solicitors and Advocates and listed on professional networking site LinkedIn as a “Higher Courts Advocate, Police Misconduct Panel Member & experienced Non-Executive Director” has also posted vile slurs, seen by Jewish News, against Israel.

In one post to his 500 connections, he writes: “There is no end to the evils of the Ahmed’s Galloway retweet TERRORIST ISRAELI regime! I am really shocked that they are still sup- Galloway, which includes the stateported by the British Government – ment: “The foul allegations of rape not surprised that America are sup- have been dropped by the Israeli porting them – as they just another government.”

A spokesperson for the West version of the State of Israel!

“But, really surprised & shocked Midlands Police and Crime Comas to the British stance in this con- missioners’ Office told Jewish News: flict! All are war criminals and should “Mr Ahmed does not represent the office of the Police and Crime Combe tried in ICC!” Accusing Israel of ethnic missioner. His views are entirely cleansing and calling it an evil his own. Questions concerning Mr regime, Ahmed also re-posted a Ahmed’s personal posts should be Tweet/X from former MP George addressed to Mr Ahmed.”

Moyet quits Twitter over abuse for supporting Jews Singer-songwriter Alison Moyet has deactivated her Twitter/X account because of abuse she received after posting support for Jews.

Moyet, a solo performer and once half of

the 1980s group Yazoo, posted saying: “Seeing my Jewish neighbours and friends shrink into themselves as antisemitism rears its head again on our shores is heartwrenching. [For] years

now we have trumpeted the righteousness of protecting our nations minorities.

“We need to remember that need for all as the world hardens”.

The post had almost

600 responses, many abusive, and she decided according to her website “to take a bit of an extended break from Twitter”.

Moyet used to live in Radlett, where she would

have had many Jewish neighbours. She now lives in Brighton.

Comedian Bennett Arron said: “Alison has had to delete her Twitter account because of all the abuse she received

for standing up for her Jewish friends. Now I understand why the few that do want to show support stay silent”.

Jewish News has approached Moyet for comment.

SADLY, WE HAVE SEEN IT ALL BEFORE

BY LYN JULIUS

CO-FOUNDER, HARIF

Families butchered like sheep. Bodies buried in the debris of homes in which pogromists had locked the families before setting them on fire. Jewish girls raped. Their breasts cut off. Most bodies, including those of young children, mutilated and their throats slit.

No – this is not a description of the 7 October assault by terrorists. It’s an anti-Jewish atrocity which prefigured the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis in the Gaza envelope by nine decades.

The massacre in question took place in the city of Constantine, in Algeria, in 1934.

Some 25 Jews were murdered, but the exact number may never be known because Arabs allegedly hid the bodies of many of the slain.

Jocelyne Shrago was not yet born when the massacre occurred. Her parents were

newly married. They were lucky, they were saved from the mob by kindly Arab neighbours. But their family house was ransacked.

Many of their possessions were destroyed.

Not a single memento of Jocelyne’s parents’ wedding survived the onslaught.

However, Shrago does possess one souvenir – a silver tray. The rioters folded the tray on itself. Shrago cannot fathom what force they must have used to do this.

Commentators writing or speaking about 7 October have evoked pogroms which afflicted Jews in Europe – Kristallnacht, the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, even the 17th century Chielmniki massacres.

Massacres of Jews living in Arab countries, such as the Constantine pogrom, exhibiting a sadism suddenly familiar to us, are virtually unknown outside those communities which directly suffered them.

Yet these events also foreshadowed the pogrom of 7 October. Over the centuries, riots in Morocco were so frequent Jews had to be locked into a walled Jewish quarter, or Mellah. One of the worst massacres of the 20th century, in 1945, in Tripoli, Libya, took 130 Jewish lives. And then there was the

Farhud, the 1941 pogrom against the Jews of Iraq in which 179 identified Jews were murdered, women raped and babies mutilated.

All these episodes predated the creation of the state of Israel. They belie the common impression that Jews and Muslims coexisted happily until the Jewish state was born, and debunk the myth that violence against Jews can be blamed on Israel. In fact Israel was not the cause but the solution to pre-existing antisemitism. The oppressed Jews of the Muslim world finally had somewhere to go.

There were 850,000 Jewish refugees. Today 50 percent of Jews in Israel have their roots in Arab and Muslim countries.

Shrago’s story features in a short film which will be premiered at JW3 on 30 November for the Annual Commemoration of the Departure and Exodus of Jews from Arab Countries and Iran. The film, commissioned by my organisation, Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, is based on oral histories collected by Sephardi Voices UK. Two of the testimonies are from Jews who stayed on in Libya and Morocco until the violent reaction to Israel’s victory in the Six

Day War finally forced them out. Israel’s triumph in 1967 precipitated an exodus of tens of thousands of Jews from Tunisia, Morocco and Libya mainly to the West.

In the film you will hear Raphael Luzon of Benghazi, Libya, describe his last day at school, and how he had to run the gauntlet of a rioting mob in order to get home.

The Libyan authorities lost control and could not protect their 6,000 Jews. Seven members of his family were slaughtered.

Luzon’s family were forced to leave in a hurry, with little money and one suitcase.

Corinne Levy Laurent tells how her father, who taught the royal princes and princesses in Morocco classical Arabic – a language he knew better than most Muslims – was given the cold shoulder by the king’s ministers.

“I am your brother,” he pleaded. “We cannot call you our brother now,” they retorted. Laurent’s father understood that Jews had no future in Morocco and packed off his family to France.

The lesson we can learn from the plight of Jews from the Muslim world is how quickly a feeling of security and wellbeing can unravel.

Jews in the UK are feeling it now.

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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24-25 NOVEMBER 2023 This year, Jewish Women’s Aid Shabbat is focused on Healthy Relationships. We invite you to read our toolkit and to take part in the activity which opens conversations about what makes a relationship healthy – or unhealthy. jwa.org.uk/healthyrelationships If you need our support, contact us: 0808 801 0500 advice@jwa.org.uk jwa.org.uk/webchat

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29

ISRAEL AT WAR

‘We hope our beloved Vivian’s life will be avenged by peace’ As she eulogised Vivian Silver, her friend and long-time fellow activist Ghadir Hani said: “Vivian, my beloved, if you could hear, I would want you to know: Hamas did not murder your vision,” writes Eliyahu Freedman.

Hani, who is from Hura, a Bedouin town in southern Israel, was one of several speakers at a “parting ceremony” for Silver, the Canadian-Israeli peace activist who was killed by Hamas in its invasion of Israel.

Many in the mixed crowd of Jewish and Palestinian women at the ceremony held each other in tears, and a friend of Silver’s from Gaza sent a written note.

Silver was previously presumed to have been taken hostage, but confirmation of her death in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri came shortly after the 7 October atrocity. Before moving to Be’eri in 1990, Silver lived at Gezer, central Israel, for more than a decade.

Cars lined the road for several kilometres outside the kibbutz, and the large crowd included current and

former Israeli lawmakers, Reform and Orthodox Jewish leaders, international and local media and activists wearing shirts bearing the names of left-wing organisations including the one she cofounded, Women Wage Peace.

“It is impossible to destroy humanity, solidarity, the wish for a safe future,” Hani said in her eulogy.

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Ayman Odeh, who leads the Hadash Party, described Silver in remarks to journalists as “the shining light of our community” and lamented “instead of dancing together after achieving peace, she became a victim in the most horrible way”.

Dov Khenin, a long-time Knesset member from Hadash and later the Joint List, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency his “heart is broken” and that Silver “was optimistic, very smiley and personable” while working together with him on many campaigns promoting Jewish-Arab partnership.

Speakers from diverse backgrounds described their immense pain at Silver’s death, and determination to

pursue the causes to which she was devoted: peace and feminist activism.

Avital Brown of Women Wage Peace said: “We promise you Vivian, we will continue your path even stronger and braver, since now it is clear where the path leads to that is not the ‘way of peace’.” After the final speaker, WWP members in light blue scarves gathered in a circle, singing Israeli folk songs and concluding with We Shall Overcome.

Hani, who discussed the difficulty of saying goodbye to Silver during wartime, said: “You taught us the most important lesson: to be human, to see the other, the weak, the one whose voice is not heard.

“I wait here without words. We are all in shock. What would you tell us to do now? How can we continue from here?”

Yachad UK director Hannah Weisfeld wrote on Twitter/X: “Those who murdered Vivian wanted to destroy any hope of a decent future for Israelis and Palestinians. I hope her life will be avenged by peace. That would be a true testament to her legacy.”

Canadian–Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver was killed by Hamas

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31

ISRAEL AT WAR

Gaza motion ‘carries risk of communal defunding’ Greater Manchester, Jewish The Conservative group Action for Mental Health on Bury Council has been and the Community Security accused of submitting an Trust as well as churches, “inadequate and dangerous mosques and shuls across the motion” on the conflict in borough.

Gaza that could potentially “People across Bury lead to the defunding of comalready feel anxious, attacked, munal organisations, writes othered and excluded Lee Harpin. because of the ongoing horThe Community Cohesion rors in Israel and Gaza, but to in Bury motion was tabled in seek to silence them through the names of 11 Tory councilcommunity organisations is lors in the north-west borbeyond the pale. ough, including leader Rus“Quite disgracefully, the Bury Council is being given a dangerous proposal, say critics sell Bernstein. motion does not specifically Former Tory group chief whip Shahbaz Arif, whose name appears organisations who “are not politically mention the need to release Israeli hostages from Hamas immediately, it does first on the motion, had previously shared neutral should not be publicly funded”.

Bury South Labour MP Christian not mention the 7 October terrorist an article highlighting Labour leader Keir Starmer for receiving donations from Wakeford reacted furiously after being attack, it does not mention the ongoing challenge to deliver a peace free from shown a copy of the tabled motion. “pro-Israel lobbyist” Trevor Chinn.

He told Jewish News: “The Con- terrorism in Palestine and Israel.

Describing the events in Israel and “Moreover, it seeks to crack down on Gaza as “a great tragedy” that has caused servative Group on Bury Council have “anxiety in all communities”, the motion submitted a totally inadequate and dan- dissenting voices by ensuring the “neunonetheless failed explicitly to con- gerous motion to council which would trality” of Bury organisations – to be demn Hamas for the 7 October terrorist seek to divide and damage our commu- seemingly judged by local politicians. I atrocity. Neither did it include calls for nity cohesion, as well as defund impor- ask how anyone can be neutral at time of tant community organisations such as war? Simply from a humanitarian angle, the immediate release of hostages.

The motion also resolves to agree the Jewish Representative Council of indifference is not an option.”

UJIA: HELP US TO HELP ISRAEL WIN THE WAR UJIA and partner organisation Ta g l i t - B i r t h right Israel have launched Birthright volunteer programmes in Israel for young British Jews.

The first starts Birthright has launched a new project Israel is facing a shortage on 4 December, with places for 22-35 year- of agricultural labour as olds available on a first come, many who would usually carry out the work have been first served basis.

Participants volunteer called up for military service as agricultural labourers in or have left the country as a the centre of Israel, picking result of the Gaza conflict.

UJIA CEO Mandie Winand packing and helping to address the shortage in ston said: “Israel is asking for labour resulting from the support to ensure crops are war. At night they will stay in not left to waste so this is an Tel Aviv with social and edu- incredible opportunity for young British Jews to offer cational activities available.

Accommodation costs, tangible support.

“In decades to come, when airport transfers, daily transport to volunteer jobs and their grandchildren ask them basic medical insurance will what they did in 2023 when Israel was attacked, those be covered by UJIA. Participants need to pay who go will be able to give an for flights, with El Al offering amazing answer.” an exclusive discount. Vol-  To sign up for a place, unteers will also receive a see application.onward israel.org weekly stipend of £79.

32 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

ISRAEL AT WAR

UK imam praised for ‘coexistence’ speech A British imam has won praise after delivering a moving speech in which he called for “peace and justice so that one day Palestinians and Israelis can coexist as neighbours, in friendship, harmony and with respect for one another” at a rally in central London.

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra appeared on stage alongside Rabbi Josh Levy at the Humanity Not Hatred vigil close to Downing Street in Westminster last week.

He said: “The Quran tells us that God had made all of us, from Adam and Eve, into different peoples so we can engage with one another and get to know one another.

“It also tells us that God has given dignity and honour to all the children of Adam.”

Speaking to a sizeable crowd at the event, introduced by Brendan Cox, the husband of the MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016, the imam continued: “We gather here today to remember all those who have been killed in Palestine and in Israel.

“We pray for the families who are grieving, some of whom are with us today.

“We pray for peace and justice so that Palestinians and Israelis can live together in safety and security and can coexist as

Shayk Ibrahim Mogra on stage with Rabbi Josh Levy, above, at the Humanity Not Hatred vigil, left

neighbours …in friendship, harmony and with respect for one another.”

Footage of his speech on the Jewish News TikTok account got thousands of views along with praise.

Also speaking at the event, which was organised by the Together Coalition, was the Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, alongside the Conservative Flick Drummond and Labour’s Alex Sobel, Mira Awad, Magen Inon and the Rev Dr Richard Sudworth.

Ahead of the vigil, the group said: “We believe in peace in Israel-Palestine, and

stand against all forms of hatred against any group. We are deeply concerned by the unprecedented rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate in the UK.” Many of the audience members were from the Jewish community and all attending where asked not to bring flags, placards or political messaging.

Moran revealed she had just learned that she had lost a family member in Gaza, whose health had deteriorated last week.

It was not as the result of a bomb, she said, but “perhaps caused by lack of food, perhaps caused by dehydration”.

Antisemitism ‘major driver’ of hate crime Police should tackle antisemitism and Islamophobia as “major drivers” of hate crime levels in England and Wales, an equality body has said.

Home Office figures show two in five (42 percent) cases of religious hate crime recorded by the police in both countries in 2021/22 were against Muslims. Around one in four (23 percent) were against Jewish

people and 8 percent were against Christians.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recommended in a new report: “Central and local government and police forces should take, and report on, action to tackle antisemitism and Islamophobia as major drivers of levels of hate crime.”

It said the fact religious hate

crime has not reduced from 2018 to the “same degree” as other such crimes should be addressed.

The watchdog identified “sudden increases” in racial or religiously motivated offences sparked by political or terrorist incidents.

Religious hate crimes recorded since Hamas attacked Israel last month

were not taken into account in the report.

The Equality and Human Rights Monitor report is produced for Parliament every five years by the EHRC, which is the regulator of equality laws in Britain and the human rights watchdog for England and Wales. It reflects challenges the country has faced since 2018.

Chief is ‘inspired’ during Israel trip The Chief Rabbi has returned from a whistle-stop visit to Israel convinced of one thing: After “the horrific attacks” on Israel we are now mishpoche, all part of the global Jewish family”, writes Jenni Frazer.

Ephraim Mirvis went to Israel as chief rabbi “to express solidarity with the state, which was very much appreciated”.

He had been “inspired” by some of the people he met and the projects he saw, and said repeatedly that “the sense of unity was very powerful, very palpable. I did not feel that we [in theUK] and people in Israel were two communities, but that we were one entity”.

During his visit, the Chief Rabbi met families whose relatives had been taken hostage, British gap year students and British soldiers, as well as witnessing “chesed”, or “lovingkindness” projects. “I came away really inspired,” he said.

“When in Israel, what immediately hits you is the centrality of the hostage issue.

Everybody is fully engaged with the tragedy of the hostages. Those photographs of the hostages surround you when you come off the plane at Ben Gurion Airport, in the streets of towns and cities.”

But Mirvis said that a lesser-known issue was the situation of displaced Israelis, an estimated 200,000 of whom had been forced to leave their homes. “I went to a supermarket to buy something and the cashier asked me if I would like to add 10 shekels to help displaced families. I said: ‘Of course’, and that’s become a standard question”.

He visited an “absolutely

extraordinary” distribution depot housed in the Bezalel art centre in Jerusalem. “They’ve taken in items donated by Jewish people around the world and are distributing them to soldiers and also displaced families.”

The Chief Rabbi met a British man who owns a number of apartments in Jerusalem and has given them over – free-of charge – to around 70 displaced Israelis.

He spoke warmly of the “resilience” of Israelis in the face of such great tragedy.

“Yes, there is a lot of nervousness, but the resilience is so inspirational. I was with a family whose son was seriously injured.”

That injury, the soldier’s parents told Mirvis, would have exempted their son from returning to serve in a combat unit.

“But he came to them last week asking them to sign their agreement to his return to the front line. When his parents said that he should be exempt, he replied: ‘This is the person you raised me to be, to be loyal to my country and to do what I can for others’.” The parents signed the army papers. That’s the nature of the spirit of Israel right now.”

Those who went on the US mission included Rabbi Pinchas Hackenbroch, senior rabbi of Woodside Park Synagogue and chair of the US Rabbinic Council; Rabbi Elchonon Feldman, senior rabbi of Bushey United Synagogue; Rabbi Barry Lerer, senior rabbi of Central Synagogue and Rabbi Nicky Liss, senior rabbi of Highgate Synagogue.

SHOW STRENGTH AND PRIDE… NOT DREAD

BY SHIMON COHEN CHAIRMAN, THE PR OFFICE

I grew up in south Wales. In the main, life was good for Jews. Successive immigrations, including Italians, Caribbeans, Greeks, Asian and Jews, all integrated well. I guess if we all “hated” the English, life was good.

However, there were flare-ups of Jewhatred. One day, while waiting for the school bus, I was set upon by four guys, who I had hitherto thought of as my friends. They pinned

me to the floor, while a fifth guy took his ruler and measured my nose. They had fun and I was left as the bloodied victim. That was the last day I was a victim. I joined the school rugby squad and was no longer the victim. I was no longer afraid and anyone who dared had to contend with the rugby squad. It is worth remembering that many Welsh rugby forwards have necks bigger than Victoria Beckham’s waist!

The world seems to love dead Jews, victim Jews and frightened Jews. They build us memorials, attend our commemorations and provide us with security. For that we must show gratitude . Of course we are grateful.

The Royal Family and the British government have shown time and again that they support us and we must always show gratitude and respect for that.

However, led by the indomitable Gerald Ronson, our community has shown that gratitude, while shaking off the victimhood and trembling Jew image of the past. Gerald’s Community Security Trust (CST) protects us while we go about our lives, strong and proud.

Even at times of real threat, the CST leads us in not cowering, not hiding and not trembling. We know there are threats and concerns.

Organised groups and lone wolves may seek to harm us, but we are led wisely to take precautions. Why? Because no one attacks a Welsh rugby forward; no one attacks a strong person.

Show weakness and the enemy revels.

So why do we have to put up with organisations within our community, and even some of the leadership, telling the world how frightened we are, how we feel threatened and how con-

cerned we are? That message is exactly what the terrorists want to achieve, to terrorise us.

Family from Israel ask how we are, how we are coping and imploring us to stay safe. Please can we stop cowering and pleading victimhood?

Can we take a leaf out of Mr Ronson’s playbook and show leadership, strength, pride and wisdom? If those who plead victimhood would only look, they would see our community going about its regular life, with pride. Shul attendance is up, attendance at communal events is up, restaurants and coffee shops are full and, with thanks to CST and the police, our community is able to function sensibly and securely.

The message Jews want to hear is thanks to the CST, and thanks to the police, who share our concerns. We will not cower and we will not be frightened.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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35

Editorial comment and letters

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The BBC has consistently ignored letters of complaints from the Jewish community about its reporting of Israel. Even a protest outside Broadcasting House did nothing.

Perhaps it is time for a different approach.

I propose a mass boycott of the television licence by the community and others angered at the BBC’s reporting. If 10,000 people refused to pay the licence fee, this would cost the BBC more than £1.5m a year. This is a drop in the ocean compared with total TV licence revenue. Much more important than this is the negative publicity it would

bring the BBC if the boycott was publicised on social media and elsewhere. The BBC would be publicly forced on to the defensive, and made to justify its editorial decisions in public, rather than in the supercilious private emails with which it usually responds to complaints from members of the Jewish community.

This is, of course, illegal, and the Jewish community is known for its law-abiding nature.

I feel guilty even suggesting it. But I am at a loss as to what else we can do to get our voices heard by those in charge at the corporation.

Daniel Saunders, Edgware

The BBC refuses to refer to ‘Hamas terrorists’ on the grounds that it is inflammatory. However, it has no problem referring to Palestinian ‘refugees’ and ‘refugee camps’.

By analogy with UNWRA’s definition, most Israelis are refugees living in refugee camps.

The difference from the Palestinians is that the money and materials poured into Israel for the betterment of its people has gone to just that.

In contrast, under UNWRA’s watchful eyes, most has gone to building a vast terror infra-

structure under the people. I believe that the continued use of ‘refugee’ and ‘refugee camp’ is deliberately emotive and inflammatory.

Again, John Simpson, apparently a supporter of the BBC’s stance, had no problem stating that, since Golda Meir lost power, all Israeli governments have been increasingly right-wing.

Whether or not one agrees with that opinion, it is and, again I believe, deliberately, emotive.

David Ashton By email

I CHALLENGE HATE JAMI’S CRUSADER I’m writing as a non-Jewish person to express my heartbreak at the rise in antisemitism in the UK during this period of conflict . Please be assured that there are people like me who have not allowed the rise in antisemitism to go unchallenged. My family was a victim of hate crime and I remember the fear I felt.

Please stay strong as a community and as individuals. Do not give into hate and fear, and push for justice.

Remain visible and vocal.

The conflict in Gaza will end, and, we hope, ordinary Israelis and Palestinians can achieve the ambition to live alongside each other again in security and peace.

Until then antisemitism will not go unchallenged by people like me who believe in tolerance and peace.

Margaret Robinson, West Yorkshire

As a founder member and president of Jami, I believe I am in the best position to comment on the invaluable work of Laurie Rackind, CEO of Jami for the past 17 years.

He has taken the charity from a little-known one to the foremost mental health charity in the community. His charisma, dynamism and innovative personality are second to none, and most importantly he has that great caring capacity always a requirement when supporting service users. carers, volunteers and staff His presence will be missed as Jami’s brand and strategy is continued under the integration with Jewish Care and the team he has estsblished.

Alan B Lazarus MBE, NW7

I read with surprise – and for the letter writer – some sadness, “I find it hard to breathe,” name withheld, published in a recent edition (Jewish News, 2 November).

Many of my gentile friends and acquaintances (and those of my Jewish partner) have messaged me with kind thoughts and words of support as I have close family living in Israel. Some have telephoned to speak with us personally. Many have been in contact regularly.

My experience is that there are many right-minded people of all faiths and none, who are keen

to defend Israel and the Jewish people as we’ve been under such a brutal attack like never before in my lifetime.

These are difficult, dark times for those of us who live in the diaspora (although nothing like what it must be like to be in Israel at present). We have taken to watching the news and reading material on social media less than we did in the immediate aftermath of 7 October.

I do hope that the letter writer can soon get some succour from those around them and breathe a bit more easily in due course.

J D Milaric, By email

ACTIVISTS? THEY’RE VANDALS If someone throws paint over a property or paints graffiti then that is an act of criminal damage.

To call the perpetrators or alleged perpetrators of the crime “activists” gives them status they don’t deserve.

The extreme left have adopted the title ‘activist’ as a badge of honour. They are anything but honourable. In this case they are nasty vandals and criminals.

They should be labelled as such.

David Hantman, By email

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The amount of vitriol coming from these protesters, inciting hatred and violence, is unbelievable.

I see nobody protesting about rights abuses in Iran, China, North Korea, UAE and other Middle Eastern countries. It is pure antisemitism. Facebook, X (Twitter) and TikTok are allowing posts of almost unhinged racism.

I used to feel Jews and Muslims shared the same outlook but all I see is intolerance, disrespect, racism and a complete unwillingness to see reason.

Freddy Naftel, By email

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We have licence to tell the BBC what we think

Like many Jewish people, I have been absolutely appalled at the level of hatred on the streets of Britain in the past few weeks, caused in part by Muslim individuals. If the reverse were to happen, we would see swift action taken against the perpetrators, Jews or not.

I have given talks and lectures in schools and colleges for more than 11 years on the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism and have gone as far as I can. I feel unable to continue with this work as I do not wish to appear angry and confrontational before young people.

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Scene & Be Seen / Community Mitzvah Day once again proved its ability to bring people together, uniting all faiths and none in social action and earning the adoration of UK political leaders.

Inside 10 Downing Street Akshata Murty, wife of Rishi Sunak, joined with Jewish and Muslim women to write Christmas cards for the staff at St John’s Hospice, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Liberal Democrat head Sir Ed Davey volunteered at their local synagogues.

This year’s theme was Repair The World. In total, 35,000 people from more than 450 organisations took part in 2,000 projects encompassing food bank collections, care home visits, cooking for those in need, litter picks and much more.

Mitzvah Day founder and chair Laura Marks said: “We were thousands of people from many different faiths and backgrounds simply doing what we do best – focusing on our similarities and putting challenging differences to one side in order to help others.”

Starmer said: “This year’s event was felt more acutely than previous years.

The core values of Mitzvah Day – the belief that through social action and working together, the world can be a better place – shine a light of hope in this time of darkness.”

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis paid tribute to those who took part: “The world needs repairing, societies need repairing, mindsets need improvement, and I therefore am grateful to every person and every community who did their bit this Mitzvah Day to contribute towards a better society and a better world.”

Senior faith leaders taking part included Rabbi Josh Levy – who leads Progressive Judaism alongside Rabbi Charley Baginsky – leading Muslim campaigner Julie Siddiqi, Imam Ibrahim Mogra and Reverend Julie Gittoes.

Mitzvah Day CEO Stuart Diamond said: “In this time of division, pain, anger and sadness, I am struck by the astonishing contribution of light and love created by our participating organisations and volunteers. By continuing to reach out to our neighbours of all faiths and none in warmth, kindness and in friendship we have played our role in starting the repair of our fractured and grieving world.”

And be seen

MITZVAH DAY 2023 Compiled by Louisa Walters

Email community editor Michelle Rosenberg, michelle@jewishnews.co.uk

Edgware and Hendon Reform

Ahmereen Reza, Elizabeth Arif-Fear, Hadiya Masieh, Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Laurie Shone, Akshata Murty and Laura Marks at 10 Downing Street for Mitzvah Day. Photo: Simon Dawson

Worcestershire Interfaith Forum

St Albans

Barnet Multi Faith Forum

Woodside Park

Rabbi Josh Levy and the group of Jewish and Muslim volunteers helping out at the JW3 Foodbank – Photo: Keith Gold

23 November 2023 Jewish News 37

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Community / Scene & Be Seen

Camp Simcha at Wo

hl Ilford Jewish Prima

ry

Rabbi Shlomo Levin welcomes Sir Keir Starmer to South Hampstead Synagogue. Photo: Yakir Zur

Alyth

Norwood Kenton United

Kisharon Langdon

Maidenhead

Village Shul and GIFT

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Mitzvah Day CEO Stuart Diamond with volunteers from all faiths at Kingston Liberal Synagogue

Members and volunteers at Jewish Care’s Michael Sobell Community Centre and Holocaust Survivors’ Centre packed gift bags for Camp Simcha’s World Prematurity Day hospital deliveries, as well as food and drink packs for the charity’s blood drive with The Joely Bear Appeal on Sunday at Edgware Community Hospital. There were also collections for the Camp Simcha Toy Drive at Pinner and Stanmore synagogues, Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School and JBD. At East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue there was singing, bingo and card making, finishing off with homemade Israeli food.

There was a football match between people supported by Kisharon Langdon and the ‘Lads on Torah’ football team. Members also gathered to sort household items to donate to Sebby’s Corner and to write cards to IDF soldiers.

20th Finchley Scout Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in conjunction with Woodside Park Synagogue crafted chanukiot for Jewish Care residents, prepared cakes for the North London Hospice, collected for the Chipping Barnet Food Bank and did litter-picking.

Norwood residents decorated plant pots to support people with loneliness. Radlett Reform Synagogue members made chanukah cards, dreidels, decorations and goodie bags for Norwood residents for their chanukah party and residents attended an afternoon tea and singalong with Kenton United Synagogue.

Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely met survivors and refugees who are members of Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, including Harry Olmer BEM and Rachel Levy BEM and Jacques Weisser BEM, who was taken from his family at just six months.

Jews, Muslims and Christians got together at Kingston Liberal Synagogue with local MP Sir Ed Davey and made up goodie bags for the local charity RBKares (Royal Borough of Kingston Cares).

Youngsters at Alyth Synagogue got stuck in to sorting donations for Child’s Hill foodbank, writing letters to accompany 126 toy donations for Great Ormond Street Hospital, and decorating cookies for local emergency services.

At Stanmore and Canons Park children created cards for Save a Child’s Heart and planted flowers in pots for residents of housing association jLiving. There was cooking for homeless charity Firm Foundations, and a lively seniors’ tea.

GIFT brought together more than 1,000 people across multiple venues including St Johns Wood Shul, The Village Shul in Hampstead, Mill Hill Shul and a primary school put together events for their respective communties and pack pamper packs for the wives of Israeli soldiers and packing essential items to send to Israel.

Jewish Care calling for release of hostages with Holocaust survivors

38 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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Inside A look

The American chef cooking for displaced Israelis in the south

Benzi Brofman’s meetings with massacre victims the day before the attack drove him to create giant murals across London. By Lianne Kolirin

P

osters of the hostages held in Gaza have been appearing across Britain in recent weeks, all too often ripped down in mindless acts of violence. But in recent days, bigger and more enduring images of those kidnapped by Hamas have been popping up across London.

Giant murals with the words “bring them home now” have surfaced in Camden Town, Shoreditch and Waterloo, thanks to a man on a mission to ensure their plight is not forgotten.

A ninth birthday party for hostage Emily Hand

Street artist Benzi Brofman could have been among the victims of the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October. He was at an event in Kibbutz Re’im a day earlier, invited there to paint at a live session at a trance scene event. He had intended to stay in the area for the weekend but left early because his wife was unwell at home and he had had a “gut feeling” that “something terrible was going to happen”.

Writing on Instagram, the 40-year-old artist said: “Even when I tried to reassure her that the place was very secure and protected, Benzi Brofman had ‘gut feeling’ before the attacks

Benzi had been at an event in Kibbutz Re’im the day before the Hamas attacks and had intended to stay but his wife, who was unwell, had asked him to come home

23 November 2023 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

39

JN LIFE

In Allen Gardens, Shoreditch, Brofman painted Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel, four, and Kfir, 10 months, all of whom have been taken hostage

she was not convinced. So I promised her I’d be back in a few hours.”

Nothing could have prepared him for what followed.

“I was in shock,” Brofman, who has been visiting the UK from his home near Haifa this week, told Jewish News. “My life was saved, but my friends’ lives were not.”

As the horrifying details of the attacks emerged, Brofman discovered that more and more people he knew or had met in Re’im had been killed. One of these was a DJ from the festival, whose last picture was taken while posing with the painting Brofman created in Re’im.

“After that I started to paint,” he said. “I painted a lot of people who were murdered on canvas and I sent them to their families.”

He added that some were displayed at the victims’ funerals.

One person whose image he captured was the aforementioned DJ, Matan Elmalen, professionally known as Kido. Posting his depiction on Instagram, Brofman wrote: “As you watch over us all from above, your legacy will continue to grow. Shine On You Crazy Diamond. FOREVER KIDO.” Soon afterwards, Brofman began to paint the hostages, starting with a large mural he did in Haifa.

“Everyone saw it and talked about it and it reached lots of places all over the world,” he said. The aim was to “express solidarity with the families and remind people that we must help them [the hostages] because they need us”.

Next came another similar roadside mural on the road to Kibbutz Sarid, close to his home in the north, as well as another on the

side of a big truck that then travelled around the country.

Brofman has been collaborating with the Israeli embassy in London to drive home that message in Britain. Each mural is on “public walls”, according to Brofman – areas where it is legal to paint.

His first creation in London emerged at Leake Street Arches in Waterloo last week, four hours after Brofman set to work at 6am.

The result was a harrowing black and white picture of two kidnapped children clutching teddy bears and Israeli flags – separated by the all-important message: “Bring them home”.

“That same day I went to Camden Market and under the bridge I painted a big teddy bear against a backdrop of the Israeli flag, with ‘Bring them home’,” he said.

Someone later scrawled “Free Gaza” across the teddy bear’s tummy, but Brofman returned the following day to fix it.

The next day he set out for what he describes as “the queen of street art” – Allen Gardens in Shoreditch. There, he transformed a pillar into perhaps the most chilling image of the hostages so far. A mother clasps her red-headed baby to her chest while her slightly older child cries nearby. It is an unmistakable image of hostages Shiri Bibas, 32, and her sons, Kfir, 10 months, and Ariel, four.

Bibas’ husband Yarden is also believed to have been abducted, while both her parents – Margit and Yossi Silverman – were killed

by Hamas.

The murals have received much attention on social media. “I’ve seen a lot of positive messages,” said Brofman. “It’s bringing a lot

of support to the Jewish community and Israelis here.”

Perhaps the most poignant of Brofman’s work has been his painting of Emily Hand, at a birthday party staged for her in London.

Initially thought to have been killed on Kibbutz Be’eri, Emily is believed to be among the hostages in Gaza. Brofman was invited to paint a picture of the youngster outside the offices of Save the Children in London to mark her turning nine.

“It’s very emotional,” Brofman said of his work. “I have power. I’m not an artist – I’m

a soldier and my gun is my spray can. I need to fight and to help the families of those who were murdered and of the hostages in Gaza.

“We can’t give up. Everyone must do what they need to do, even if it’s hard – and it is hard,” said Brofman, who last weekend flew to Berlin, where he will continue to illustrate his message.

“I know what I need to do, so I must fight for them because if a ‘kid’ is fighting to save my life in Gaza, then I must do what I know how to do. This is the time that we must help each other and it doesn’t matter how.”

Benzi’s mural on a towpath at Camden Market, north London

40 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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JN LIFE

After the attacks in Israel last month, many chefs fought the loss and disbelief by catering for soldiers or survivors.

Brandon Chrostowski was one of them

Brandon takes an aspiring chef under his wing and, inset, collaborates with Elie Weiss and (centre) musician Tomer Yosef

Cooking for survival

I

t doesn’t take being on the front line of a war to understand its effects. After serving refugees in Poland and working on relief efforts in Ukraine, I found myself called to Israel after the savage acts of Hamas.

Chefs do not sit back. In times like these, we will unite from far and wide to help where we can and feed the soul.

I went to Tel Aviv to work alongside a group of passionate chefs, cooking, packing, organising and delivering 1,400 meals out of Café Asif. The kitchen was edgy. It had a deep layer of fight to it. Fighting the feeling of loss. Fighting the

Brandon at the Café Asif kitchen

feeling of disbelief. Fighting for peace. To me, kitchens are a lens into society. Different cultures collide. Men and women of various ages sharing moments of life that present themselves through the small and large kitchen tasks. Here in this kitchen, through this lens, the reality of war was revealed. The sadness and fear of the unknown.

Chefs who lost friends and family that ugly Saturday, seeking relief through cooking for victims and those displaced.

We could only use this kitchen, use our shared desire to do something, for so long. Our work was constantly interrupted by sirens.

We’d go from the kitchen to a bomb shelter, praying to avoid rockets, back to the kitchen.

Then, a friend in Tel Aviv mentioned there was a displaced kibbutz in the south of Israel and I asked if we could cook for them.

I’ve seen and been exposed to a lot, but never have I witnessed the true power of food and hospitality more than in the middle of that desert, in the town of Mitzpe Ramon.

Driving two hours south, there was nothing but desert, camel crossings, a few small stores, and my thoughts. For me, this drive was a time of reflection, to try to process what I had witnessed, and what happened to all these innocent, beautiful souls. You can’t properly articulate just how devastating this new reality is. Such profound

loss and sadness. All these families broken, victimised. Lives lost. Children, so many children. This was an attack on humanity. What people are going through, there’s nothing worse. And you keep asking yourself what else can I do, to try to find some small act of allyship, of support.

This strong desire to do something, anything, to help them fight, move forward and show they’re not alone.

Once I arrived, I found that we would be cooking at what was essentially a high-end campground. This setting proved to be just the right energy, the key ingredient if you will, for what was to come.

We prepared a feast for more than 200 men, women and children. Cucumbers were cut and marinated with red onion, vinegar and dill. Fresh lettuce was covered with a creamy tahini vinaigrette and red peppers.

Chicken thighs marinated in baharat that were seared made the air smell like warm shawarma.

Fresh roasted figs with a Cabernet cinnamon glaze shined like a star.

In the middle of it all a 10-yearold boy with bare feet came into the kitchen with his father. His dad said he wanted to be a chef and I threw him my towel and signalled towards the open flame where he started to caramelise onions. We cooked.

Our feast was served in a large wood-post tent covered with beautiful red and black sheets. It was perfectly lit with lanterns and lights.

Brandon Chrostowski helped to feed 200 displaced people

The long tables were filled families, friends and wine. Everyone was smiling and sharing this moment. As I kept the buffet filled, I cried.

While the children drank basil lemonade and ate schnitzel, I could not help but think that if it wasn’t for a couple of kilometres and the Israel Defence Forces, who intercepted Hamas, they would all be dead or kidnapped, like those at the kibbutz next door.

I cried as the boy with no shoes smiled as he poured the thick, satinlike glaze over the figs and placed it out on the buffet. For one night, everyone briefly found a sliver of joy.

Even as we ate the lemon-roasted potatoes with za’atar and heard explosions in the distance, it didn’t stop hospitality from winning.

That kitchen – that night – I will

never experience in my lifetime again. Given the circumstances, I pray I don’t. With so much lost, food temporarily healed that night. It didn’t make anyone forget – that’s impossible given what this community witnessed and is living through.

But it reminded everyone who we are as humans, and how great the world can be when gathered around the table to break bread together.  Brandon Chrostowski is founder and head chef of EDWINS Leadership Restaurant and Institute, a Clevelandbased French restaurant and non-profit culinary arts programme that provides formerly incarcerated adults with a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industries

23 November 2023 Jewish News

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One of the chief tasks of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all.

"

ABBA EBAN (1915 – 2002)

"

Yad Vashem has been shedding tears for the victims of history’s greatest atrocity for over 70 years. We are devastated to see those tears have fallen on barren earth. How can the Jewish People find yet more tears to show our pain and let the world know that the evil of antisemitism is still with us?

OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN FOR THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS, THE SISTERS AND BROTHERS AND THE CHILDREN WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN SO BARBARICALLY ENDED

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Orthodox Judaism

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA In our thought-provoking series, rabbis and educators relate the week’s parsha to the way we live today

BY TAMAR COHEN

TRIBE EDUCATION MANAGER

All life is here: faith, endurance, dreams and relationships In the thrilling Biblical odyssey of parsha Vayeitzei, we follow Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, on a captivating adventure of love, betrayal and self-discovery.

Fleeing his brother’s wrath, Jacob embarks on a life-changing journey, encountering a mysterious ladder to heaven and meeting his future wives, Rachel and Leah. Amid family rivalries and deceit, he works tirelessly for his cunning uncle, Laban, amassing wealth and family. As the saga unfolds, Vayeitzei unveils a gripping narrative of faith, endurance, and the enduring legacy of a patriarch.

But the Torah is more than a blockbuster film or gripping storybook; it’s a timeless life guide, imparting values, ethics and history to help

us navigate our own journeys. As we navigate this incredibly turbulent time in our nation’s history, this week’s parsha offers a number of incredibly important and relevant lessons.

1. Faith and trust in Hashem’s timing Jacob’s patience in waiting for his beloved Rachel and his trust in Hashem demonstrate the importance of faith. Faith is the most important thing that we can cling to at the moment. Facing so much fear and uncertainty, we must continue to place our trust in Hashem and pray for the safe return of our hostages and the safety of our armed forces.

2. Honesty and integrity Jacob maintains honesty and integrity despite Laban’s attempts to deceive him. This teaches us the value of the value of staying true to our principles and not compromising integrity, even in challenging or unethical situations. The hate-filled, antisemitic vitriol seen in recent weeks has been shocking. We must be reminded though at all times to represent

ourselves and our nation with the utmost dignity and integrity.

3. Interpersonal relationships Vayeitzei highlights the complex dynamics within Jacob’s family, particularly between his wives, Leah and Rachel, and their handmaids.

It shows the importance of communication and empathy within relationships, essential for fostering understanding and harmony.

Now is the time for Jews across the globe to put their differences aside and stand together as one to defend our right live freely as Jews both in Israel and around the world.

4. Dreams and aspirations Jacob’s vision of a ladder to heaven reminds us of the significance of having dreams, aiming high, and believing in our potential for greatness. In life, we should dare to dream and work towards our goals. Our nation has suffered so tremendously in recent weeks and with the wellbeing and safety of our hostages and armed forces at the front of our minds, one could be forgiven for feeling like giving up hope. However, we must pull together as a community with steadfast determination and remain driven in our efforts to show unwavering love and support to all those suffering.

We must defend our right to live freely

The magic of the Torah is that there are personal lessons for every one of us in the text of these stories. Find the message in each and every parsha which is there just for you, and learn from the guidance of our forefathers.

RABBI AND REBBETZIN Overview

The Community

Flagship United Synagogue house of traditional Jewish worship in Great Britain, located in central London, The New West End Synagogue occupies a rarified status in the history of Judaism.

The Synagogue is seeking a dynamic rabbinic couple to define the future trajectory of a loyal community approaching its 150th anniversary.

A vibrant, eclectic congregation enjoys a varied programme of events which reflects the complexion of a diverse, highly social and welcoming membership. The two main community aims are complementary; to enhance the “Minhag Anglia” form of worship and to grow the congregation by reaching out across central London and beyond.

The Position

The Roles

Timings

Applications are invited from qualified candidates with the following criteria:

The community seeks an engaging and approachable couple as Rabbi and Rebbetzin, to minister across the full spectrum of Jewish life, focused on the following disciplines:

•

• • •

Proactive rabbinic couple Vocational motivation Rabbinic ordination approved

The Employment Package • •

Remuneration is attractive and aligned with the responsibilities of the roles Accommodation on-site in a period town house

• • • • • • • •

Communal Events Courses Education For Adults and Children Hosting Lifecycle Events Outreach Pastoral Care Ritual Services

For informal, confidential enquiries: rabbinicselectioncommittee@newwestend.org.uk

• •

Applications: Now open.

Close at 3pm GMT 3rd Tevet 5784 Early application an advantage Interviews: Commence following closing date Start date: By mutual agreement

The Application • • • •

Curricula Vitae References Your approach to community Rabbonus Your congruity with The New West End

To view the job descriptions and apply for this position: www.theus.org.uk/vacancies

The United Synagogue is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of babies, infants and children; it requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service and other checks will be mandatory.

46 Jewish News 23 November 2023

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Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

A stimulating series where progressive rabbis consider how to navigate Judaism in the face of 21st-century issues

BY RABBI MIRIAM BERGER FINCHLEY REFORM SYNAGOGUE

Celebrate rather than hibernate I want to use this space to say thank you. Thank you to communal organisations that are tempting us out from behind the sofa. The more news we watch, the more social media we doomscroll, the more tempted we are to sneak further into hibernation mode and refuse to come out. Like the child in class who keeps extra quiet and hopes that, if they keep their head down, the bullies won’t turn on them.

What a moment for a Jewish Film Festival, or to book your skating session at JW3 for a bit of frivolous fun. What perfect timing for Contemporary Judaica to have a pop-up shop in the heart of Hampstead. These are all simple ways to remind ourselves

that we are an important part of British society and we cannot be made to feel like villains.

Those organisations, along with countless others, encourage us to live full Jewish lives. No, we can’t take away the pain of what’s going on in Israel and Gaza, or stop ourselves from asking: “What’s next?” or lessen the grief for all the lives lost. However, we can do two crucial things: we can stand among our community and remind ourselves that our Jewish identity is something to be proud of.

We are in Kislev, the Hebrew month that will bring us Chanukah, the festival that reminds us to put our chanukiot in the windows and be proudly Jewish. This takes on a new – and old – defiance, which I will be embracing wholeheartedly this year.

I, like many of you, have been feeling sad, anxious and tired as

a backdrop to everything since 7 October.

However, I realise that two moments have particularly lifted me. One was last Sunday’s Mitzvah Day – perfectly timed for a muchneeded boost. Our synagogue was filled with the sound of children cooking, playing sport, doing drama and art while their parents sat chatting, eating and even, at one point, breaking into spontaneous song and dance. A group of asylum seekers from the hotel near the synagogue were given a break from their own four walls. We were Jews, Christians and Muslims, all refusing to be enemies.

The second moment is one that is happening week in, week out. Every Shabbat since Simchat Torah we have had at least one extra simcha in our services. Bnei mitzvot, baby blessings and aufrufs remind us that we have to

When we come together in community, everything becomes easier

keep celebrating. More significantly, coming together holding joy and pain reminds us how much easier that weight is to bear in community.

This month of Kislev, be a proud

Jew in the community.

It’s the way to be mindful of our mental health and to strengthen ourselves as individuals and each other at this desperate time.

United Synagogue Calo’s

Fundraising Team Administrator Salary: £35,000 per annum Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week (part-time hours would be considered)

Job Opportunity Looking for someone to join our busy family run funeral directors in Edgware. Duties include, Undertakers roll which involves lifting, lowering, and transferring. No admin involved. No experience needed. A full driving licence is preferable.

Also need to be flexible for overtime evenings and weekends.

Hours are Sundays 8:30 till 4:30 Monday to Thursday 9-5 Start pay £11.50 per hour plus opportunities for overtime.

Please contact Lisa or Ashley on: 0208 958 2112 07946 446701

We’d love you to join our team as the Fundraising Team Administrator, playing a crucial role in supporting the fundraising efforts in the United Synagogue Fundraising Department.

Primary responsibilities include managing administrative tasks, line-managing the Database Administrator and providing support to the team, to ensure the smooth operation of fundraising campaigns and activities.

It’s a full-time role (though part-time will be considered) based in North Finchley.

To view the job description and apply for this position, please visit: www.theus.org.uk/fundraisingadmin Closing date: 27th November 2023 We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

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We have an open waiting list in our friendly and comfortable warden assisted sheltered housing schemes in Ealing, East Finchley and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, a sunny patio and garden.

For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484 or email: johnsilverman@btconnect.com

DATING

£850,000 Freehold

Contact: Alan 07776 255755 HOUSE FOR SALE

STUNNING BLACK/JEWISH BEAUTY - SEEK DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN Slim, intelligent, sophisticated, loving, & an affectionate lady (50’s). Loves cooking, cycling, skiing, keeping fit, loves the countryside, great sense of humour. Enjoys gardening, fun loving seeks: Tall, slim gentleman (55-70’s yrs), a man who knows want he wants, loves walks, outdoors, opera, theatre, holidays & great food. Tactile & affectionate is essential, as well as being well spoken. Non smoker, with no facial hair, must be active and well dressed. Preferably, countryside or village life, in the South of England. Love being spoilt?

Only genuine prospective need to apply, write to: one2one.you@icloud.com

STONEMASON

HOUSE SALE 4 Bed House for sale, Hendon, NW4 £1,100,000 Contact Clive 07970510656 Private sale LAW MENTOR

UTILITIES

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Chancellors House, Brampton Lane, London, NW4 4AB Tel: 020 8903 8746 | Mobile: 079 3172 2153 www.bfiwd.org | email: info@bfiwd.org

49

23 November 2023 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

2

4

3

8

9

11

5

6

13

14 15 17

16 18

19 20

21

22

23

24

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

9 Opened (a present) (9) 11 Disdain (4) 12 Apartment sharer (8) 15 Summoned away (6,3) 18 Current impeder (8) 19 Reduce the numbers of (4) 21 Make a rough attempt (4,1,4) 23 Tip of a pen (3) 24 Humour used to criticise political folly (6) 25 Cleanly breaks (6)

7

10

12

SUDOKU

25

ACROSS 1 Revise (6) 4 ___ Leone, African country (6) 8 Desperate ___, comic hero (3)

6 9

DOWN 1 Unassuming (6) 2 Informs against (9) 3 Vulgar, of language (4) 5 Lack of movement (8) 6 Slash (3) 7 ___ Hepburn, My Fair Lady star (6) 10 Left in a huff (6,3) 13 Prosperity (9) 14 Thriller writer Mr MacLean (8) 16 19th-century German composer (6) 17 Models representing Earth (6) 20 Double-reed instrument (4) 22 Levy on purchases (inits) (3)

5

K

I W J R J

L X C Y N

12

T

L R N O E D N H E O

25

T R T

I

E R W H R S G

N A M K U U D N P H O

I

I

A U

21

E C C T D G N S N E O

14

E S N S

O A E O T A Y L O R T Y E M E C S

I

R A P D

R E A R

9

6

22

25

17

21

22

6

12

5

12 22

15 15

22

7

2

25

12 24

8 25

3 25

6 6

7

22 17

12

6

3

2

T

25

25

19

2 1

17 11

22

12

5

20

15

23

3

13

15

24 6

17

12

13

22

23

23

22

2

5

25

26

1

24

22

10 12

3

18

1

22

22

5 21

G

22

3

3 15

26

DREW

MORGAN

REESE

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

CASEY

JORDAN

NIKITA

RIO

1

2

CHARLIE

LEE

PARIS

TAYLOR

14

15

ACROSS: 1 At this rate, 8 Lemur, 9 Avocado, 10 Too much, 11 Twine, 12 Presuming, 15 Youth, 17 Keep mum, 19 Bacardi, 20 Thugs, 21 Denigrates.

DOWN: 2 Tempo, 3 Hirsute, 4 Swashbuckling, 5 Afoot, 6 Evading, 7 Done, 8 Late, 12 Pounced, 13 Iced tea, 14 Amps, 15 Yobs, 16 Heron, 18 Mouse.

Sudoku 7 2 9 5 8 4 6 3 1 2 7 6 8 4 5 1 9 3 3 6 7 4 1 8 9 5 2

4 5 1 6 3 2 7 9 8 8 4 9 1 6 3 2 7 5 9 1 4 5 2 6 3 8 7

25

3

4

5

6

7

8

16

17

18

19

20

21

T A

G

20

18

1 4 2 3 2 1 5 3 5 1 5 4 1 4 2 3 2 3 2 3 1 5 4 1 1 5 4 2 3 2 2 3 1 5 4 1

22

12

9

10

11

12

13

22

23

24

25

26

Suguru 8 6 3 7 9 1 4 5 2 3 1 5 2 7 9 6 8 4 5 2 8 9 3 7 1 4 6

4 5 3 4 2 3 2 1 2 1 5 1 3 4 5 4 2 3 1 2 1 3 1 5 4 5 4 5 2 3 1 2 3 1 4 1

4 3

22

ARIEL

15

2

18

PAT

13

3

4

7

LESLIE

6

3

A

CHRIS

22

4

2

ALEXIS

26

4 1

12

16 7

15

4 3 5 1 4 2 4 1 5

7

19 22

4

15

20 20

5 7 6 4

5 1 2 3

3

25

12

12 4

13

I

Crossword

E L

5

14

G L M

Last issue’s solutions

I

1

25 23

I

3 5

21

T P A A S C L

T S H A R U

22

9 5 3

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

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.

7

7 4

SUGURU

The listed unisex names 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.

X E L A M

8 3 2

2 4

CODEWORD

I

2 7 3 8 1 9

WORDSEARCH O E G D S

8

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

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

Wordsearch

Codeword

O R E G N E K C E S L I P O I P A T S T L A T R A M T B J O H Z S T O E G M S E M V E G

J I VED VAL I ANT A I U A I F H CO D I C I L F I F T Y U E K L E R M Z OOM S E AS HORE Z P Y P N I NST EP CACT US C N S N W HE RE D I T Y OGRE O A U U B R E UNT I L P ARQUE T S C U I O N L E X HUME D W I T T Y

A I C C P A Z I T V E

N O K B J A H C A R L S E S R L C T E M E H S O A R I B O P A L R S N P L E Z R I I H I N O O N E R A I N G I L O N P E T A R I A N

23/11

50 Jewish News 23 November 2023

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Bring light to Israel this Chanukah Chanukah feels different this year.

It may feel a little harder to get excited. So Myisrael has come up with a way for you to mark Chanukah and support vulnerable people in Israel at the same time.

For one night of Chanukah you can choose one of four charitable gifts in honour of a loved one. We will send them a physical or e-card letting them know of your donation.

100% of all donations go directly to helping those in Israel with the greatest need.

There are four gifts including a therapy doll that will help a child who is dealing with trauma to feel less anxious.

VISIT OUR CHANUKAH STORE

myisraelstore.org UK registered charity number 1121960

JNFP_Myisrael_Chanukah 260mmWx330mmH_AW_7Nov.indd 1

07/11/2023 17:02