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PROUD VOICE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY 14 December 2023 • 2 Tevet 5784 • Issue No.1345 •

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7TH OCTOBER MAGEN DAVID ADOM RESPONDS On October 7th Hamas terrorists launched a deadly surprise attack on Southern Israel. At least 1,200 people were slaughtered in cold blood, with thousands more injured. Over 240 men, women, children and babies, were taken to Gaza as hostages, where the overwhelming majority remain captive.

Magen David Adom members gather at the funeral of MDA volunteer Yarin Peled, who was murdered in the October 7th massacre

Aharon Chaimov, 25

Amir Tzur, 23

From just after 6.30am on that Saturday morning, when the first call for help was received to a Magen David Adom dispatch centre, we responded. Although this was unlike any other day, MDA’s remit was the same as every other day. To save more lives.

The destruction caused by Hamas’ terrorist attack is still being evaluated. Our teams who were in the field were shaken by the horrific sights at the kibbutzim and communities they sought to help.

Bodies of men, women, children, the elderly and even dead animals everywhere.

In absolute contravention of the Geneva Conventions and all normal standards of human rights, MDA personnel and ambulances were considered legitimate targets. As you will read inside, 11 Magen David Adom team members lost their lives in trying to save the lives of others. Running into an emergency scene whilst others

Amit Mann, 22

Aviya Hezroni, 69

look to run away is what defines the bravery of MDA’s medics, paramedics and volunteers. They will forever be our heroes. Were it not for our armoured and bullet-proof ambulances, more would have died.

In the two months since the atrocities, Magen David Adom, together with all of Israeli society, have responded in the only way they know how. Together.

People continue to queue around the block to donate blood (60,000 units were donated in the first month after the attack. An incredible figure). Every MDA volunteer has signed-up for additional shifts. MDA in Israel is running at full capacity around the clock. Not just on the Gaza border, where rockets continue to fall, but also in anticipation of the threat to the north and the need for ongoing preparedness across the country.

Thank you for your support to Magen David Adom.

Your generosity has saved lives.

Eitan Ne’eman, 45

Lior Levy, 19

Lior Arazi, 25

OUR FALLEN HEROES Saar Margolis, 37

Shir Biton, 19

Uriel Bibi, 30

Yarin Peled, 20

Magen David Adom UK deeply mourns the devastating loss of 11 MDA employees and volunteers who were brutally murdered while saving the lives of others. Our hearts are broken. We offer our deepest sympathies to the grieving families.

MAGEN DAVID ADOM UK, WINSTON HOUSE, 2 DOLLIS PARK, LONDON N3 1HF | 020 8201 5900 | INFO@MDAUK.ORG | WWW.MDAUK.ORG 6946 MDA Red Shield Winter 2023 JN Wrap v1.indd 1

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Jewish News 14 December 2023

I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT I SAW

UK COMMUNITY HONOURS MDA HEROES

LO FO

Magen David Adom UK hosted over 400 guests at The Peninsula Hotel in Hyde Park

As Mag ‘Operat Campa were un generos replenis and equ ongoing

on 4th December, to pay tribute to the heroic medics, paramedics and volunteers of MDA Israel.

The event showcased the outstanding efforts of MDA since October 7th, all thanks to the tens of thousands of MDA volunteers and medics who proudly wear their uniforms and perform their I have recently returned from 36-hours in Israel. As I put pen to paper to describe what I saw and how I feel, I am lost.

On the one hand, it was a huge honour to meet some of the most remarkable people and hear their lifesaving stories. And yet, for all the heroics, it is impossible to see past the death and devastation. I met with Ofir, a Magen David Adom volunteer and former paratrooper commander. He told me of the pure evil encountered as he was targeted en route to the local MDA station.

He miraculously survived the terrorists’ bullets. He also heard them laughing at the decapitated and dismembered bodies scattered all around. That day, Ofir told me, the MDA station car park resembled a morgue. Forty body bags filling the space.

We have all seen the images on the news and across social media. But to see an armoured ambulance peppered with bullets makes you realise how close our colleagues in Israel are to danger. We mourn the 11 MDA heroes who were brutally murdered just going about their shifts. But how many more would that have been if the vehicles and protective equipment had not been so readily available? It’s a scary thought.

Israel and communities around the world, have come together like never before.

The response here in the UK has been truly remarkable. 7th October has changed Israel forever. Whilst we will never forget what happened, I am confident that our unity will see us through.

duties to save more lives as well as honour those who tragically lost their lives trying to save others.

MDA Israel lifesavers, Sharon Temis, Shunit Dekel, Ophir Tor, and Ilan Klein (right), with Robert Rinder MBE (between Ophir and Ilan)

Russell Jacobs, Chairman of MDA UK, shared a message from Dr Mohammed Al-Hadid, President of the Jordanian Red Crescent who reaffirmed that “we must, as partners, remain undeterred in our joint mission to save lives” and

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that he and his colleagues will always be our friends and partners in saving lives.

The audience was also privileged to hear the personal stories of MDA lifesavers, Adi, Ophir, Sharon and Shunit, featured in a series of films about the organisation’s immediate response on 7/10.

Amongst the many esteemed speakers of the evening, Keynote Speaker, Peter Kyle MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, recounted his visits to MDA in Israel. He stated that MDA is a “world

MDA Dispatch Centre Shift Manager, Sharon Temis, explained to Peter Kyle MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology how the call centre operates on the live feed set up at The Peninsula Hotel

leader in health and emergency care”. This was displayed in a live stream demonstration of MDA’s dispatch technology showcase from Chief Information Officer Ido Rosenblat.

Rob Rinder MBE, the compère for the evening, together with Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of MDA UK, spoke about their recent visit to Israel and the horrors they witnessed.

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum and H.E. Mrs Tzipi Hotovely, Ambassador of Israel

The evening was filled with emotion and immense gratitude for all that MDA and its lifesavers do day in and day out.

In Septe hosted campa birthda the cou emerge

Am Yisrael Chai

Daniel Burger Chief Executive Magen David Adom UK

Chairman of MDA UK, Russell Jacobs

The mou were pr charism introduc

Ophir Tor, Magen David Adom Volunteer and Former Paratrooper Commander

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Kinder portraits

PROUD VOICE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY 14 December 2023 • 2 Tevet 5784 • Issue No.1345 •

Images of rescued child refugees displayed at National Portrait Gallery P28

We played it so wrong FA boss sorry for response to terror attack P24

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Strength and

Brighter days ahead

Cameron and

Survivors centre stage at Israeli fashion show Page 10

the Chief Rabbi light Downing

Street candles Page 4

Three-quarters of Jews more fearful since 7/10 Exclusive Jewish News polling reveals chilling impact

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

77 percent of British Jews feel ‘much less safe’

Security concerns among British Jews and the erosion of confidence in key institutions are laid bare today in an exclusive poll for the Jewish Leadership Council and this newspaper.

A shocking 77 percent of respondents to a survey, conducted

by Survation for Jewish News and the JLC, said they now felt “much less safe” (46.4 percent) or “somewhat less safe” (30.7 percent) living in this country following the murder and hostage taking of Jews

living in Israel. The growing insecurity of the community in the UK is shown to have been compounded by a growing distrust of institutions such as the BBC, UK university authorities and even the police.

In response to a question about the BBC and how it was perceived, 64 percent said they trusted the corporation “less” than they did before the Hamas terror attacks that saw 1,200 people murdered and 240 taken hostage into Gaza.

This result would appear to confirm the widespread belief in the community that the BBC’s coverage of the current war between Israel and Hamas has not been fair

or accurate and does not reflect the Israel that the UK Jewish community recognises.

Similarly, in response to their attitude to British university authorities, 58 percent said they trust them less than they did before 7 October, a result which would seem to confirm that Jewish families feel not enough is being done to stem rising antisemitic sentiment on campuses.

According to the results of the poll, conducted in November, 50 percent of British Jews say that following the Hamas attacks they trust the police less.

This would appear to be a

response to the sight of inflammatory placards and chants going unpunished at a series of pro-Palestine protests across the country.

Quizzed about the impact of antisemitism, the polls suggest that 89 percent of British Jews think it has grown in the last five years, with two thirds (71 percent) of those surveyed suggesting that it has increased by a significant amount during this period.

The poll also revealed that many British Jews have personally experienced or witnessed antisemitic attacks in the last year. When surveyed, 15 percent of respondents Continued on page 10

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Jewish News 14 December 2023

ISRAEL AT WAR

‘A ceasefire is possible, with return of hostages’

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

The UN General Assembly this week approved a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with 153 nations voting in favour, 10 against and 23 abstaining. The resolution, while not legally binding, was another blow to Israel, which has faced increasing pressure to agree to stop hostilities.

The resolution had already been vetoed in the UN Security Council by the United States, a move applauded by Israel, whose ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called it a “little light [that] rejected a lot of darkness. A ceasefire is possible, only with the return of all the hostages and destruction of Hamas.”

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood had also lambasted the resolution for failing to condemn Hamas’ atrocities on 7 October.

The resolution, he said, was “divorced from reality” and “would have not moved the needle forward on the ground”. Rather, he added, it would have allowed Hamas to grow and continue to rule Gaza and would therefore “only plant the seeds for the next war”.

Meanwhile, intense fighting in Gaza continued, with the IDF focusing on the Hamas strongholds in the northern and southern parts of the enclave. In the neighbourhood of Shujaiyeh, in northern Gaza, 10 soldiers were killed when they were met with fire and explosive devices.

In the south, Israel continued to pound the city of Khan Younis, where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to have been hiding underground.

IDF chief Herzl Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited Khan Younis in what was seen as a symbolic move to show the Israeli leadership’s presence in a Hamas stronghold.

Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal

Powerful images released this week show family snapshots (top) and the same scene without a

reported the IDF as forecast had begun flooding the Hamas terror tunnels with seawater in what is seen as an attempt to avoid Israeli casualties in direct combat with terrorists underground. The IDF has yet to comment on the report.

The Palestinian death toll rose to 18,000 according to Hamas. while 113 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground

invasion was launched, including the son and nephew of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, a member of the unity government.

Israel also said it had arrested more than 500 terrorists in Gaza in the past month, 350 of whom were members of Hamas and 120 from Islamic Jihad.

“The operatives were detained during battles in recent days by IDF troops. Some

Killed in Gaza: Lt Col Tomer Grinberg, Maj Roei Meldasi, Maj Moshe Avram Bar On, Sgt Achia Daskal, Sgt First Class Rom Hecht, Maj Ben Shelly, Cpt Liel Hayo; Staff Sgt Oriya Yaakov

BIBI DISMISSES TWO-STATE SOLUTION Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week appeared to dismiss growing calls for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, saying neither Hamas or Fatah will govern Gaza when the war is over.

“I greatly appreciate the American support for destroying Hamas and returning our hostages,” he said.

“Following an intensive dialogue with President Biden and his team, we received full backing for the ground incursion and blocking the international pressure to stop the war.”

The prime minister admitted Israel and the US disagree over “the day after Hamas” but said he hopes the two allies will reach an agreement there as well.

“I would like to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo,” Netanyahu said.

“After the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers, I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism.

“Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan.”

Shortly after, president Biden seemed to fire back at Netanyahu’s comments, saying: “You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. We have to work toward bringing Israel together in a way that provides for the beginning of… a two-state solution.”

Biden also warned Israel could lose support for its war against Hamas due to its “indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.”

Netanyahu is “a good friend, but I think he has to change, and… this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden added.

Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi doubled down on Netanyahu’s statement, saying Israel respected and cherished Biden as a man “who went out of his way during the most difficult period of the State of Israel”.

Karhi continued: “This is true friendship,” but added: “But we live here, this is our country, the historical property of our ancestors.

“There will be no Palestinian state here. We will never allow another state to be established between Jordan and the [Mediterranean] sea.”

US president Joe Biden

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14 December 2023 Jewish News

ISRAEL AT WAR

much-loved relative following their kidnap from a southern kibbutz or murder by the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on 7 October

of them voluntarily surrendered and were taken by the field interrogators… for further investigation,” the IDF spokesperson said.

Images and videos of prisoners handcuffed, blindfolded and in underwear, went viral on social media, causing a wave of great anger and criticism at Israel for humiliating the Palestinians.

The IDF said it would see to it such images would not be circulated again.

Israel also opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing to speed up the process of sending in more trucks with humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing.

Hostages Israeli special forces retrieved the bodies of two Israeli hostages in Gaza on Tuesday night. Eden Zacharia, aged 27, was taken hostage by Hamas from the music festival in Kibbutz Re’eim while Ziv Dado, 36, a soldier in the Golani Brigade’s 51st battalion, was killed on 7 October and his body taken to Gaza.

The special forces found their bodies in

at his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu

a Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza. Zacharia and Dado are the latest hostages to have been declared dead since Hamas broke the ceasefire on 1 December. At least eight other Israelis have also been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

Hostages released by Hamas during the week-long ceasefire last month began talking about the conditions in which they were held, describing sexual violence, psychological terror, constant fear and hopelessness.

Renana Eitan, director of the psychiatric division of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre-Ichilov, repeated the stories to Israeli media, saying she had not seen anything like it during 20 years of treating trauma victims.

“The physical, sexual, mental, psychological abuse of these hostages who came back is just terrible. We have to rewrite the textbook,” she said.

“They wanted to control the kids, and sometimes it’s difficult to control young children, adolescents. And they know that if they drug them they will be quiet. One of the girls was given ketamine for a few weeks. It’s unbelievable to do this to a child,” Eitan added.

Eitan also said that some of the hostages continued to be disillusioned: “One minute they know that they are here at Ichilov medical centre, and the next they think they are back with Hamas.”

Demonstrations against the government’s handling of the hostage situation continued over the past week, with nightly gatherings at ‘Hostage Square’ in Tel Aviv.

On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the government building in Jerusalem, holding signs saying: “Time is running out – release the abductees now.”

Jewish News spoke to an Israeli minister on the prospects of a new ceasefire/hostage deal with Hamas. He replied: We know that there is only one option: to destroy Hamas.

This is our goal and we will achieve it.”

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ISRAEL AT WAR

OVER Cameron recalls seeing FEARS HAMAS’ GRIP ON CAMPUSES Nathanel at Number 10 Lord Cameron recalled meeting former JFS student Nathanel Young at a Chanukah celebration in Downing Street when he was prime minister, as he stepped in for Rishi Sunak to host this year’s event, writes Richard Ferrer.

David Cameron was joined

by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and about 200 members of the Jewish community for a candlelighting ceremony to mark the sixth day of the festival.

In an emotional speech, in which he reflected on his recent visit to Israel to witness the devastation of 7 October, the former prime minister reflected on how Nathanel, who was killed during the raid by Hamas, was among students from Beit Shvidler school in Edgware who attended the event during his premiership.

“Here was a proud soldier, a proud musician and a proud Jew, who went home to serve his country, only to be murdered by a brutal bunch of terrorists.

Hasmonean Primary school pupils sing at Downing Street

“We have seen appalling outbreaks of antisemitism since October 7. It drives me as mad as I’m sure it does you to see people carrying banners and chanting ‘from the river to the sea’, because that implies genocide. We want Jewish people in our country to feel loved, to feel welcome, and we value the Jewish community, the

contribution you make, and we want to drive out antisemitism.”

Speaking to a packed room, the foreign secretary also said he wanted his words to stand as “a memorial to those killed

by Hamas, and a vigil for those held hostage and defiance against the rise of antisemitism in Britain”.

Sgt Nathanel Young

Among those also attending Tuesday’s event were the president of the Board of Deputies Marie van der Zyl, Jewish Leadership Council chairman Keith Black and children from Hasmonean Primary School, who performed Chanukah songs.

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant has issued a warning about Hamas’ growing influence on universities and protests around the world.

“Hamas propaganda is influencing universities and protests, and money is being poured in which is activating terror networks around the world,” he told Daily Mail.

“This is a collision course between civilizations. Hamas represents a medieval phenomenon,” he added.

Gallant also defended Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, saying the Jewish state is fighting “fighting on the frontline of the free world against terrorism. When there is a fire in the first house, you have to stop it from spreading in the village and reaching the church. Israel is like the first house.

Hamas uses every tool possible, Gallant continued, “including sacrificing hundreds of thousands of civilians. They are capitalising on the humanitarian situation and using the civilian population. They have built hundreds of kilometres of tunnels under hospitals, schools and so on. They are using hospitals and civilian infrastructure to protect terror infrastructure. It’s hard to bring democracies to fight wars but once we are in one, we are much stronger because we are fighting to defend our values,” he added.

Gallant said Hamas is suffering “massive losses” in the northern part of the strip and the IDF is achieving its “military goals. Hamas terrorists have two options: die or surrender.”

Gallant praised Israel’s relationship with the UK, stating that the level of understanding and cooperation between the two allies in the field of intelligence “are at a peak and will only go further”.

Finding it hard to face facts?

It is not hard to condemn multiple and extensive rapes.

It is not hard to condemn any FORMER CHAIR, form of antisemitism or any other BICOM form of discrimination.

It is not hard to condemn taking civilian hostages and provide no Dear World access to the Red Cross to evaluate During this difficult situation their health. in the region, I’m writing from It is not hard to condemn chants Israel to let you know that, as and slogans that call for violence or someone who has lived across elimination of a group of people. many continents and cultures, It is not hard to condemn protest when I look at some of the behaviour that is aggressive and reactions across the world one thought comes to mind: It is really bullying and has sometimes been violent. not that hard. Let me elaborate.

It is not hard to condemn attacks It is not hard to condemn from another party (Hezbollah) on terrorist attacks against civilians.

Israel that does not even care about It is not hard to see that acts the Palestinian issue. perpetrated on 7 October was one It is not hard to learn a little to of the largest atrocities any of us make sure that you actually underhas ever seen. stand what you are singing in the It is not hard to say that Hamas marches or posting on your social are evil and proud to commit evil. media.

It is not hard to realise that living It is not hard to learn the meaning a life where rushing to a bunker is of colonialisation, ethnic cleansing common practice is not normal.

BY EDWARD MISRAHI

and genocide before using it widely.

It is not hard to understand that a country cannot have a neighbour whose leader’s objectives are the destruction of the country and its people.

It is not hard to be against Hamas and pro-Palestinian.

It is not hard to make sure that university environments are safe for all students.

It is not hard to say you stand against genocide without context.

It is not hard to believe that being ruled by a terrorist organisation is not good for its population.

It is not hard to understand that media from countries with no freedom of press needs to be evaluated differently – do you really believe all that the North Korean or Iranian government say about its people?

It is not hard to understand that a location cannot be devoid of everything but have the ability to build hundreds of kilometres of

underground tunnels and massive weaponry.

It is not hard to wonder why the Palestinian leaders are so wealthy whilst the population remains so poor.

It is not hard to wonder why for the UN humanitarian organisations, Israeli humanitarian issues are not important But somehow you are finding it hard. It does not have to be.

Many people who don’t find any of these things hard are very critical of Israel and their treatment of Palestinians and believe we need to find a constructive way forward.

Many people who don’t find this very hard are devastated about the loss of civilian lives in Gaza.

Many people who don’t find this very hard are very critcal of the current Israeli government.

Many people who don’t find this hard are very worried about the impact on Palestinian lives and the loss of civilian life.

Many people who don’t find this very hard want an immediate ceasefire.

Many people who don’t find this very hard want us to negotiate with Hamas to ensure we release the hostages.

Be as critical as you want of the Israeli policies and the war. Protest peacefully to ensure your voice is heard. Propose new solutions that maybe we had not thought about.

Israel needs to ensure its security first but a long term resolution of this situation is going to need the help and involvement of the world.

Resolving this situation is going to be hard and painful. There are some very hard decisions coming ahead for Israelis and Palestinians.

But not all of it has to be this hard.

• Edward Misrahi is a businessman, philanthropist and former chair of BICOM (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre). He made aliyah in 2020

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14 December 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

‘The loss of our baby brother leaves an unfathomable gap’ The heartbroken sisters and brothers of the 19-yearold IDF soldier Benjamin Needham, who died fighting in the north of Gaza, have paid loving tributes to their “baby brother”, writes Jenni Frazer.

Yael Schlagman, who works for Jewish News, her sister Orli Ferris and brother Daniel Needham (the three eldest) recalled their brother Benji, the youngest of six.

He was born in Edgware and attended the Nancy Reuben Primary School in Hendon (where Yael has sent her own children). Daniel also lives in London.

When Benjamin was eight, his parents, Faye and Amnon, left the UK and made their home in Zikhron Ya’akov, in the north of Israel.

“Benji continued school in Zichron,” Yael said. “He was very sporty – he was number two in the whole country for his age group in mixed martial arts, or MMA.” The sisters said his ability was of a very high standard since the athlete who was the Israeli number one had turned professional.

Many of Benji Needham’s friends had visited the

mourning family after his funeral in Zikhron Ya’akov.

Yael said: “Every day we have learned more about him – but particularly about his enthusiasm as a ‘party guy’.

We knew he had an outgoing character, we hardly saw him when he wasn’t smiling the whole time. But his friends talked of him as the one who was always first at the party, the one who made everyone feel he was their best friend.”

Just two weeks before his death, on 3 December, Benji had celebrated his birthday and had completed his advanced basic training in a combat engineering unit in the IDF. “He was very focused on the army, he desperately wanted to go and protect the country,” his sisters said. “He was a hero.”

The family is observant and Benji had begun, he told his father, to put on tefillin in company with a fellow soldier who was also studying at yeshiva.

All the family were “very close”, said Yael, and a highlight of their summer had been when all six siblings gathered to mark their

father’s 70th birthday.

In their eulogy at the funeral, the sisters recalled: “We just had the perfect summer with you — precious memories that will now need to last a lifetime.

How lucky we were that you could surprise dad, and celebrate his birthday with us. You travelled for hours to make it happen, and then went in the early hours to Zikhron, just to get underwear to your comrade, because you felt you owed him for letting you take his place [in order] to come and see us.”

There were constant messages between the siblings — one other brother is also in the army. Yael said: “I was messaging him all the time.

Before Shabbat he told us he was ‘going in’ and that he was fine and not to worry.”

Safe zones ‘extremely difficult but plausible’ Safe zones to help bring humanitarian relief to people in southern Gaza are “extremely difficult but plausible”, according to a Foreign Office minister.

Andrew Mitchell maintained the UK government believes a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict is “implausible” and there is “no possibility” of one taking place given both sides appear unwilling to agree to one.

But Mitchell, while pressing the need for further pauses in the fighting, said talks are ongoing about the prospect of creating safe areas to provide support while acknowledging the difficulties of guaranteeing the security of such areas.

He added that there have been “no new developments” in the release of hostages, with the Ministry of Defence conducting unarmed surveil-

lance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including over Israel and Gaza.

Several Labour MPs used the Commons urgent question to criticise the government for last week abstaining on a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Rachael Maskell (York Central) asked whether talks had been held about a ceasefire in the south of Gaza, noting that many Palestinians were sent there for their safety. Mitchell replied that there had been no such talks, adding: “We are exploring every possible mechanism to bring the relief of humanitarian supplies, including the extremely difficult but plausible advent of safe zones.”

Labour’s Karen Buck (Westminster North) earlier said: “With hundreds of thousand of Palestinians

now homeless and parts of northern Gaza rendered effectively uninhabitable, understandably there is real concern many people will not be able to return to their homes.

“Can the minister tell us what representations he has made that would make it absolutely clear that permanent forced displacement of the Gazan population is unacceptable, not just across international borders, not just into the West Bank but also within Gaza itself?”

Mitchell replied that the United Nations was actively looking at how to provide safe areas where support could be given. “The problem with safe areas is that they have to be absolutely safe and we have to understand both Hamas and Israel and every other entity will guarantee the safety when people are brought there to receive support,” he added.

Benjamin Needham, who was born in Edgware, died fighting in Gaza.

He had just turned 19

She wrote back “I love you so much,” and saw that he had read the message.

The siblings described Benji as “very outgoing and

gregarious – and he knew that he was very loved”. The loss of “our baby, our joker, our warmhearted, kind, funny, loving brother, son, uncle, grandson,

hero” would leave a huge and unfillable gap.

His was the second death of a British soldier. Nathanel Young was killed on 7 October.

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Empowered elegance Survivors and the bereaved have stepped on to the catwalk in outfits created to symbolise the attacks of 7 October, writes Louisa Walters

S

urvivors of 7 October attended a unique fashion show in Israel to model dresses inspired by the atrocities and created by some of Israel’s finest designers.

As reported in the Daily Mail, the models included British-Israeli Jessica Elter, who heard the moment her fiancé Ben was shot dead as she spoke with him on the phone, and the famous ‘Woman in Red’, Vlada Paptov, who was captured sprinting away from Hamas gunmen at the Nova music festival in one of the most recognisable images of the slaughter.

Each model was either a survivor who witnessed the massacre, or had lost a loved one. They came together to put on a show of defiance, vowing: “We will dance again.”

The fashion show, by Fine Productions, was held in Old Jaffa on Sunday night. It was called POV, standing for point of view, as it told the story of the

massacre from different perspectives.

Jessica Elter wore a white wedding dress with a ‘bullet hole’ in her heart.

Vlada Paptov wore a blue dress inspired by the Israeli flag. Bar Goldstein wore a gold dress made from shell casings.

As she put on the wedding dress, Jessica Elter began to cry. The Liverpoolborn model’s fiance, Ben Shimoni, was shot dead by terrorists on 7 October as he sacrificed his life to save over a dozen people from the Nova festival massacre.

“The first sentence that I said wearing that dress was I wanted this moment just with Ben,” the 27-yearold told the Daily Mail in Tel Aviv. Her partner of six years escaped the massacre only to ignore pleas from her and her family by returning multiple times to save people

before he was killed while she was on the phone to him.

“I miss him,” she said. “I miss him every second of the day. But the only thing I can do besides missing him is doing things so that people will remember Ben – telling his story all around the world.”

Describing the importance of the show, Lian Mizrachi, 26, who designed Elter’s wedding dress, said: “Two months ago Israel had a disaster inflicted by Hamas.

“We are here to memorialise the victims and make some noise in the world about what happened in our country.”

Bar Goldstein and her dress made from bullets

Photos courtesy of The Daily Mail

Main picture: Yovel Sharvit Trabelsi; above, Jessica Elter with a ‘bullet’ in her heart; below, Vlada Paptov

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

NEVER BEFORE HAS THE LIGHT OF CHANUKAH FELT SO WELCOME meeting. They started working together almost 12 years ago, as the CST shared the lessons it had learned about protecting the Jewish community with other minority groups, so they could benefit from that experience and protection too.

That day, they met in a period of intense grief for both communities, yet they were united in their call for an end to hate in all its forms. That is the British way, and Labour will always work to keep our communities safe and bring them together, rather than let them be torn apart.

The past weeks have not been easy, but the story of Chanukah is one of lasting hope – of light emerging out of darkness, even in what feels like the most impossible of circumstances.

We must hold onto that message now, as we seek to bring our communities together, as we hope for the safe and swift return of all hostages, and as we continue to strive for a lasting peace.

I hope that over these special eight nights of Chanukah, all of you will find moments of peace and joy with family and friends, lighting the menorah in your homes, synagogues and communities, and that celebrating this festival of light will remind us all that a brighter future is possible.  Yvette Cooper is shadow home secretary and MP for Normanton, Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley

BY YVETTE COOPER, MP SHADOW HOME SECRETARY

I joined the Chief Rabbi, progressive rabbis, the Board of Deputies and other communal organisations to celebrate Chanukah in Parliament.

It was impossible not to be moved by the resonant message of the Chanukah story – of finding light in darkness – as the beautiful chanukiah in the Speaker’s House was lit and the community joined together in Ma’oz Tzur for the first time this year.

Of course Chanukah comes at a very poignant, and still at a very painful time for Jewish communities here and around the world. Never before has the light and warmth of this festival felt so welcome, after what has been, and what continues to be, such a dark and difficult chapter following the barbaric terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October.

We have many Jewish families in the UK still grieving the loss of loved ones who were killed, and I know the whole community is still reeling from the horror of what continues to unfold in the Middle East, the ongoing fighting and the fate of more than 100 hostages still held.

It is because these annual moments of celebration with family and friends are so precious that we so acutely feel the pain of those who are being denied them this year.

Here in the UK, that anguish is being compounded by an appalling and intolerable rise in antisemitism on Britain’s streets and online.

I want to thank the Community Security Trust for the remarkable and tireless work they do, alongside the police, to keep the Jewish community safe and secure, but we cannot relent in our action to stamp out the scourge of antisemitism in all its forms.

We have seen unacceptable antisemitic placards at protests, graffiti on a Holocaust library, and Jewish primary schools vandalised with red paint. Last week I spoke with the Union of Jewish Students, who are deeply concerned about the rise in antisemitism on university campuses.

We cannot and will not stand for this; not now and not ever. There is no place in Britain for

the hatred and vitriol that devastates lives and corrodes communities. Those who perpetrate that poison must face the full force of the law.

In the coming weeks and months we must all be vigilant to ensure that events unfolding internationally do not play out in increased tensions here at home. That’s why we are grateful for the reassurance policing work taking place across communities and why Labour has supported additional funding for the CST. It’s why we have also called for the government to go further and strengthen the monitoring requirements around antisemitic hate incidents, to ensure that all instances are properly recorded and monitored by the police.

Alongside that enforcement action, we must also strengthen the cross-community bridges and bonds that have been built over many years, both so they can withstand – and help to see us through – these complex and challenging times.

A few weeks ago I met with the CST and Tell Mama, which monitors Islamophobic hate crime, together in my office.

It was an incredibly moving and powerful

MAYOR JOINS COMMUNAL FIGURES AT PUBLIC LIGHTING

From left: Adrian Cohen of London Jewish Forum, comedian and presenter David Baddiel, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl, JLC chair Keith Black and Rabbi Hackenbroch of Woodside Park United Synagogue at the lighting of theTrafalgar Square chanukiah on Monday

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ISRAEL AT WAR

HAMAS AIM IS Ad agency withdraws KYLE: TO WRECK PEACE kidnapped campaign An outdoor advertising company has been accused of an agreement breach after taking down images of kidnapped Israelis just six days into a planned twoweek campaign across London, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The Israeli Embassy to the UK, alongside the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in London, was running the digital campaign with the company, London Lites, to display the

images of those kidnapped by Hamas and still being held hostage in Gaza.

The agreement with London Lites was for the campaign to last for two weeks but after six days in which the images were shown on giant screens throughout London, the company, in an unprecedented step, unilaterally decided to stop it, claiming that it had received “complaints from the public” regarding the initiative.

The digital campaign was expected to continue for two weeks across the capital

In response, the Israeli embassy in London said: “We regret that the London Lites company caved to the threats of an extreme minority in the UK, which forcefully tries to limit freedom of expression.”

A statement said the embassy was considering “further steps” against the company and would continue to raise awareness for the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

It continued: “There should be nothing controversial about raising awareness for innocent civilians being held hostage by a terror organisation.

This is a humanitarian cause.

“This breach of contract plays into the hands of terrorists by actively ignoring the war crimes of Hamas and also by succumbing to intimidation and threats in London.”

A spokesperson for London Lites told Jewish News: “Following discussions with the Metropolitan Police about community safety concerns regarding billboard site advertising this campaign, we have regrettably taken the decision to cease advertising on community cohesion grounds.”

The spokesperson added: “London Lites previously carried advertising for the Campaign Against Antisemitism and supports freedom of speech.

“However, we received an unprecedented number of concerns from the public in response to the advertising campaign last week, and the safety of all members of the local communities where we advertise is paramount.”

Mayor: Chanukah lighting more important than ever London mayor Sadiq Khan has said it was “more important than ever this year” to erect a spectacular mechanukiah in Trafalgar Square to show everyone the capital’s Jewish community is “not just tolerated, but is respected, embraced and celebrated”.

Speaking to Jewish News, Khan revealed as a result of the mass pro-Palestinian marches that have taken place weekly in response to the Hamas terror atrocity in Israel he had heard the real concerns of “too many Jewish Londoners who feel scared to come into the centre of London”.

The mayor was joined on Monday evening by Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) chair Keith Black, Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl, Rabbi Pinchas Hackenbroch from the United Synagogue and London Jewish Forum chair Adrian Cohen for a small ceremony for the fifth night of Chanukah in front of the main chanukiah.

Speaking ahead of the lighting of the candles by Rabbi Pinchas JLC chair Black told those in attendance: “Our celebration tonight is not just a cultural and religious observance but a bold message against hatred and division.”

He also stressed the importance of engaging in a public demonstration of Jewish observance in a city and country that the community “had been proud

The chanukiah in place in Trafalgar Square

to live within”, while van der Zyl also spoke of a year in which antisemitism had risen sharply, but also of the need for the Jewish community to continue to conduct itself with pride.

Khan also commented on reports that in Stamford Hill, north London, a Transport for London number 316 bus had refused to stop for a group of young passengers from the local Charedi community at the behest of some passengers, with some claiming the driver had also been abusive.

“I heard about this and chased it up with TFL,” confirmed Khan. “If it is happening, it is straightforward discrimination and it’s not acceptable.”

Peter Kyle during his visit to Barnet College

Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle has warned “we must never forget” the 7 October attack on a kibbutz that he himself had previously visited was to “wreck any chance of peace,” writes Lee Harpin.

Speaking to Jewish News, the shadow secretary of state for science and Hove MP recalled his visit to Kibbutz Nir-Oz, where around 180 of the 400 residents were brutally killed or abducted as hostages during the atrocity.

He said: “When I was there, it was incredibly peaceful – everything you hear the kibbutz movement aspires to was there.

“But it was close to the border with Gaza and you had the incongruous sight of a school building which had to have two layers of reinforced concrete above it to deal with incoming rockets.

“The threat was ever pre-

sent. However Kibbutz Nir-Oz championed co-habitation. It was one of its founding principals they had and they still do.”

Asked how he felt about Hamas targeting the kibbutz, Kyle added: “There are lots of kibbutz in the area, but the reason that one was targeted was not its championing coexistence ... [but] because it championed cohabitation “This is something we must never forget. The Hamas terror attack was done in order to stop processes leading to peaceful existence, not to deliver one. They have sought to wreck any chance of peace.

That can’t be allowed.”

Kyle, who has a close affinity to the Jewish community in his seat, spoke of his admiration for Israel’s kibbutz life while visiting Barnet College with local Chipping Barnet parliamentary candidate Dan Tomlinson.

Giant London screens are lit for the festival Chanukah is being celebrated in central London in a partnership with mayor Sadiq Khan on the giant screens of Outernet – wrap-around, floor-toceiling displays outside Tottenham Court Road tube station.

The tourist attraction, which covers 23,000 sq ft, beamed a message of Happy Chanukah and Chanukah Sameach, in both English and Hebrew, as the mayor visited the impressive display on Monday.

Khan was photographed with some of the team behind Outernet, including CEO Phillip O’Ferrall as the screens shone across the capital.

Last month, the screens had been used to celebrate Diwali with the display moving on to mark other holidays and holy days including Christmas, the Lunar New Year, St George’s Day, Vaisakhi, Eid and other similar occasions as they arrive.

O’Ferrall said of the initiative: “From the outset, Outernet was designed to be a place for all to come.

With this campaign, we are proud to

work with the mayor and his team to display on our screens a campaign that is all about the inclusivity that makes London such a fantastic place.

“The actual designs look stunning and the story is the one that that can never be told enough.”

Khan said: “The message shines bright from the Outernet screens in central London wishing everyone observing a happy Chanukah.

“In these difficult times, the enduring hope in the story of Chanukah has never been more relevant.”

The Outernet screens in Soho

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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ISRAEL AT WAR

SHIFT IN TRUST Most feel Israel vital BIG OF AUTHORITIES for UK Jews’ safety

BY JONATHAN the Israel being portrayed in the media in general doesn’t BOYD (DR)

Continued from page 1 said they have personally experienced a verbal attack, while 14 percent had experienced an online attack, with the majority of these coming post-7 October.

The poll also underlined the significance of Israel for Britain’s Jews, with 9 in 10 (89 percent) saying the nation is important for the security of Jews around the world.

Claudia Mendoza, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: “The aftermath of the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel continues to have an effect on the Jewish community here in the UK. In the wake of the record rising levels of antisemitism, this poll shows that many in our community are losing trust in the institutions they should be able to rely on.”

Survation spoke to a selected sample of 790 UK Jews, between 6 and 27 November.

Asked to what extent they considered antisemitism a problem in the UK today, nearly 57 percent of respondents said they considered it to be a “very big problem”.

Under seven percent suggested it was “not a problem at all”.

Over the past five years, nearly 71 percent said they believed antisemitism had “increased a lot” in the UK.

On the question of safety in the UK, on a scale of one to 10, just over six percent, said they “strongly agree” they felt “safe as a Jewish person living in the UK today”.

Photographs in the UK taken by the CST since the attacks of 7 October

Nearly 13 percent said they would “strongly disagree” with that statement.

Most significantly, 49 percent said that post-7 October they felt “much less safe” in this country; 31 percent agreed that they were left feeling “somewhat less safe”.

Just 16 percent of British Jews felt “about the same” living in the UK in the aftermath of the atrocity.

On the question of when members of the community had “experienced at least one antisemitic incident” since the start of 2023, over 60 percent said these had taken place after 7 October, and 14 percent said they had happened before 7 October.

On the BBC, 47 percent of British Jews said they trusted it “much less” than before 7 October; 17 percent said “somewhat less”.

The poll also shed light on the community’s view of our main political parties’ response to the terror attacks. Over 52 percent said their trust in the Conservative government “had not changed” and “19 percent” trusted the government “more” .

For Labour, 44 percent said their view “had not changed” and 16 percent trusted Keir Starmer’s party “more”. Meanwhile 15 percent trusted Labour “less”, and 12 percent trusted the Conservatives less.

INSTITUTE OF JEWISH POLICY RESEARCH

Perhaps the most striking result of the Jewish NewsJLC poll is 77 percent report feeling less safe as Jews in the UK and only four percent more so.

Clearly, there has been a big shift in how Jews feel about their security in this country.

Time will tell whether this is a lasting change or whether it is an immediate reaction to current realities that will calm down in due course.

Similar shifts in trust for some of the country’s key institutions help to explain why Jews feel less safe. Beyond the most obvious cause – the spike in antisemitic incidents that has taken place – the fact that 62 percent of British Jews trust the BBC less than they did prior partly reflects views about the BBC itself, but also points to a wider sense that

reflect the Israel Jews know, trust and love.

Not dissimilarly, 56 percent say they now trust the university authorities less than they did, This partly reflects anxieties about the security of our children and grandchildren who are currently on campus, but also to a fear that academia in general is becoming hostile environments for Jews due to their often antagonistic portrayal of Israel as imperialist, colonialist and racist.

Trust levels in the police have also fallen. The surface concern here is about policing of anti-Israel protests, but at a deeper level it is about the country’s ability to stand up to those expressing support for Islamist terrorism. There is a sense among many Jews that extremism is being tolerated – perhaps out of ignorance or fear – and there is anxiety that a climate that doesn’t clamp down on extremist ideas allows them to further take root.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

‘Don’t you dare look away’ A group of Israeli women have staged a demonstration with a difference – trying to explain the rapes and violence of 7 October to a British audience using stories familiar to the public.

Florit Shoihet, who is originally from Ashkelon, worked with a loose coalition of Israeli women living in the UK, together with some British Jews, under the banner of “Remember 7/10”, to mark the vicious Hamas attacks on southern Israel.

Last weekend, after attending a demonstration protesting against the indifference of the UN to the sexually abused female victims of the terrorist attack, around a dozen members of the

Remember 7/10 group moved into Parliament Square where they dressed in clothing designed to attract attention.

The outfits featured redstained jogging pants to mimic the real-life blood-soaked clothes of those raped and sexually assaulted by Hamas.

Carrying graphic posters, the women stood next to statues in and around Parliament Square of three notable women.

They were suffragette Millicent Fawcett; Second World War British agent Violette Szabo, who was captured and executed by the Nazis, and the British Iceni tribal queen Boudicca, or Boadicea, whose daughters were raped

during her rebellion against an invading Roman army.

Florit told Jewish News: “We were trying to use British contexts to explain what had happened to the women in Israel.

Each of the women whose statues we gathered at was of importance in British history and relevant to our message. At Millicent Fawcett’s statue, it was very powerful.

“We were holding signs including ‘Me Too Unless U R A Jew’, ‘Remember 7/10’, and posters asking people to recognise the rapes that happened on that day.

“People were stopping and talking and were very respectful — we felt we made an impact.”

A demonstrator at the gathering with a ‘Me Too’ poster

INCITEMENT £2.2m for Beit Halochem ABBAS CHARGE DROPPED A British charity helping injured Israeli soldiers raised £2.2 million in a match funding campaign this week.

Beit Halochem – meaning ‘House of Warriors’ – was supported by 2,507 donors to provide crucial financial support for the daily operations at its four state-of-theart Beit Halochem facilities across Israel.

The organisation says since the 7 October Hamas terror attacks it has seen demand for its services soar, with 2,048 new veterans requiring support.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said he was delighted to “share this moment of pride and satisfaction”.

As the fundraising goal

Chief Rabbi Mirvis and supporters celebrate the result

was met, chair of trustees Andrew Wolfson said: “Tonight as a charity it shows we have garnered unbelievable support from the youngest members of our society through to the more senior members.

“We have a broad appeal to everyone in the community who wants to help people who are there protecting a country we love.

“I certainly feel I have a debt of gratitude to the people who protect a

country that I want to go and visit. For me to go and visit it needs to be safe and in order for people to be brave, we need best-in-class rehabilitation and that’s what I think Beit Halochem provides.”

CEO Spencer Gelding told Jewish News: “We have been overwhelmed and humbled by the tremendous support we have received during this campaign.

“The generosity of our community has surpassed all expectations, allowing us to significantly surpass our initial fundraising goals.

“The chief rabbi’s presence added a special touch to the event, underscoring the importance of our mission in supporting disabled veterans and their families.”

Berlin’s attorney general dismissed incitement to hate charges against Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas this week, saying the leader was protected by diplomatic immunity during a visit in 2022 even though Germany does not recognise the Palestinian Authority as a state.

At issue were comments delivered by Abbas during a press conference with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, in which he accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” since its war for independence in 1948.

Following public and political outcry, Abbas later qualified his remarks, saying in a

statement the Holocaust was “the most heinous crime in modern human history”.

Scholz, leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, was also criticised for not responding forcefully to Abbas in the moment during the press conference.

Next day, in a statement on the platform then known as Twitter, he said he was “disgusted by the outrageous remarks” made by Abbas.

He added: “For us Germans in particular, any relativisation of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable.”

It is against the law in Germany to relativise or deny the Holocaust.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Red Cross hostage policy under fire The chairs of Labour Friends of Israel, Conservative Friends of Israel and Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel have co-signed a letter to the president of the International Red Cross expressing “deep concern” about Hamas’s refusal to allow Red Cross access to the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The letter, addressed to president Mirjana Spoljaric, also set out a series of questions about what steps the ICRC has been taking to reach the hostages.

The document asked what actions the ICRC had taken, and

continued to take, in order to gain access to the hostages while also querying what steps the ICRC had taken to gain access during the temporary ceasefire.

The letter also asked for confirmation that the ICRC is in discussions with Qatar and Turkey to release the hostages “given their close links with Hamas”.

Alongside the cross-party letter, LFI’s leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Ramsay, also wrote to the ambassadors of Qatar and Turkey in the UK. Her query sought answers

about both states’ relationships with the Hamas terror group and called on them to apply pressure for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages still in Gaza.

In both letters, Baroness Ramsay raised the issue of Hamas refusing to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the hostages, including causing the humanitarian pause in late November to break down as a result.

She also raised the concerning reports about the treatment of hostages by Hamas.

International Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric

Assume nothing in this hall of mirrors

BY REBECCA SIMON BOARD MEMBER, LABOUR FRIENDS OF ISRAEL (LFI)

Kay Burley’s recent preposterous interview with Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy saw her ask: “Does Israel not think Palestinian lives are valued as highly as Israeli lives?”

She was asking in relation to the hostage negotiations and Israel’s agreement to release 150 prisoners for 50 hostages. Levy’s now famous eyebrows rose aloft as he expressed his astonishment and disgust. I watched the clip over and over, trying to make sense of it, but kept coming up with 2+2=5.

Burley’s question, and her arrogant refusal to acknowledge its absurdity, symbolises the inverse logic, distortions and perversions of accepted wisdoms that have come to characterise this conflict. It presents a troubling new status quo.

There are no useful recent precedents for the events of the past two months. The Hamas massacre of 7 October has been compared to 9/11, the rise in global antisemitism likened to Kristallnacht and Nazi Germany, the mass kidnapping of more than 240 hostages likened to the actions of Boku Haram in Nigeria.

But none of these is a perfect parallel.

Hamas’ attack, even by fundamentalist standards, was unfathomably barbaric. And there is no comprehensive playbook for how a sovereign, civilised, democratic nation should respond to a violent massacre on its soil – involving filmed and glorified mass rapes, mutilations, decapitations – from a genocidal jihadist group.

Hamas is literally on Israel’s doorstep, purposely embedded into packed civilian infrastructure, comfortable using its people as human shields. Adding to the complexity of Israel’s response is the debate over what is deemed ‘acceptable’ by the international commentariat, policy makers, and agencies.

The events of 7 October shook our world.

Imagine a snow globe. The first few weeks are characterised by chaos, grief, trauma, but as the ‘snow’ starts to settle, it does so in an incomprehensible new world order.

Parameters have shifted to make room for a new paradigm for political and social discourse. Israel has always been judged by a different standard from any other western democracy and there is no surprise her full throttle response has come under intense scrutiny and widespread vehement criticism.

Even with that being the expected case, I still held assumptions about how some may respond but most, if not all, reactions have been completely confounding.

Since 7 October, the world has been like a hall of mirrors – you think you knew what you expected to see but the distortions that look back are disturbing and unrecognisable.

I assumed organisations and institutions, establishments I trusted to uphold truth and justice, to protect the vulnerable, would deliver

a more circumspect, compassionate and empathetic response to the hideous and impossible predicament Israel is in.

I assumed globally significant media outlets like the BBC would call terrorism out for what it is. I assumed UN Women would rush to condemn in the strongest possible terms, the rape and extreme sexual violence suffered by Israeli women and girls.

Why wouldn’t they?

Surely this is Hamas’ and its backers’ major strategic victory – that despite committing one of the most atrocious, monstrous crimes in several generations, they can invoke sympathy for their cause to eradicate Israel.

That despite filming their work and openly stating their intentions to go again if given the chance, they are not vilified as the villains, terrorists, rapists and murderers they are.

And that despite the rise in global antisemitism, organisations from every corner of civilised society have been manipulated into silence at best.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

Music in Jake Marlowe’s memory helps Kisharon A heavy metal music event dedicated to the late Jake Marlowe raised £3,000 in support of the charity Kisharon Langdon, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The 26-year-old, a member of heavy metal bands including Desolated, was murdered by Hamas while working on security at the Supernova music festival in Re’im, southern Israel, on 7 October.

Jake had been living in Ma’alot, in the north of Israel and made aliyah two years ago.

The sell-out charity event in his memory took place in central London, where friends, band members and passionate music fans gathered to remember Jake.

Emotional speeches were delivered by Jake’s father, Michael, and close friends, providing reflections on his life and contributions to the music scene.

Jake, a former JFS pupil, was confirmed five days after the Hamas attacks to have been among the dead. His sister, Natasha, receives support from Kisharon Langdon, making the event even more meaningful.

The heavy metal concert raised £3,000 for Kisharon Langdon

The £3,000 raised will go towards musical initiatives at the organisation, which supports people with learning disabilities and autism.

Sara Pollins, director of marketing and communications for Kisharon

Langdon said: “The heavy metal community came together to honour Jake Marlowe’s memory, showcasing the profound impact he had through his musical endeavors. The event not only celebrated his life but also demonstrated the solidarity and generosity within the heavy metal music community.”

ADVERT REMINDED SOME OF GAZA WAR Zara has pulled an advert following complaints that its pictures resembled images from the Israel-Hamas war.

Some people “saw in them something far from what was intended”, the fashion retailer said .

One image showed a model holding a mannequin wrapped in a white material.

The Advertising Zara pulled this fashion campaign Standards Authority said it had received 110 com- called The Jacket, had backplaints that the ad referenced grounds of cracked stones, the Israel-Hamas conflict damaged statues and broken and was offensive. The ASA plasterboard. The company said the campaign’s sole purwas not investigating the ad.

Zara said the campaign, pose was to show clothes “in advertising its Atelier line, was an artistic context”.

It added: “Unfortunately, “conceived in July and photosome customers felt offended graphed in September”.

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 by these images, which have October, killing 1,200 people. now been removed, and saw Israel’s retaliatory attacks in them something far from have, according to the Hamas- what was intended when they run health ministry, killed were created. Zara regrets 17,700 Palestinians, most of that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect them women and children.

Photos in Zara’s campaign, towards everyone.”

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ISRAEL AT WAR

NHS doc: Hamas attack Warning on TikTok use ‘resistance’ An NHS doctor who is the current chair of the British branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Islamist group which seeks to implement sharia law in the west, says he has no regrets about his appearance on Piers Morgan’s Talk TV show in which he described Hamas as a “resistance” group, writes Jenni Frazer.

Morgan described his comments as “bulls***” and said he could not believe a doctor would talk about the 7 October massacres of Israeli civilians in such a way.

Dr Abdul Wahid, who also uses the name Wahid Asif Shaida, practises in Harrow, where he trains newly qualified doctors. In a heated exchange with Morgan, he questioned the veracity of events on 7 October, saying “if” they had happened, he could comment. Nevertheless, in a clip played by Morgan from a different TV appearance,

days after the attacks on Israel, the doctor described them as “a very welcome punch on the nose”.

Morgan also played a clip in which Dr Wahid addressed a crowd in his capacity as Hizb ut-Tahrir leader while appearing to rouse people to chant the word “jihad”.

In social media posts after his appearance, Dr Wahid said that he “knew” that Morgan’s “attack would be personal, that he would frame it in terms of extremism”.

He believed, however, that it was “important” to make the point that the 7 October attacks “were not the first time it happened… and that when people resist, it’s a right”.

Writing on Twitter/X, the doctor said: “Why not just say ‘I condemn’ the things alleged to have happened? Because the so many things alleged to have happened on the 7th October have

Dr Abdul Wahid appearing on Piers Morgan’s show this week

been unproven, disputed or shown to be false. So to condemn what is not certain is like endorsing the accusations & used maliciously.”

Morgan asked Dr Wahid if his patients were aware of his views or if he shared his opinions during consultations. The doctor said this would never happen in the course of “a 10-minute consultation” at the GP surgery where he works.

Morgan has subsequently posted several X comments about

the confrontation with the doctor, whose views he angrily rejected.

A spokesman for the General Medical Council told Jewish News that it was “aware of the concerns that have been raised”. It added it could not “confirm whether we are investigating a doctor unless they have been interim suspended or have interim conditions following a hearing of the Interim Orders Tribunal (IOT) at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service”.

Prof removed for ‘blow up’ JLM call

Removed: Harriet Bradley

An emeritus professor of sociology at Bristol University has been removed from her post for calling for “someone to blow up” a Jewish Labour Movement conference, writes Lee Harpin.

Harriet Bradley, a former Labour councillor, posted the inflammatory response on X/Twitter, after JLM announced next month’s event, which features some of the party’s biggest names as speakers, including Wes Streeting, Peter Mandleson, Mar-

garet Hodge, Luciana Berger, Ruth Anderson and Dame Louise Ellman.

Avon and Somerset Police and the Community Security Trust have been contacted over the threatening post, which has been deleted but not before it was shared on social media.

JLM national chair Mike Katz said: “At a time of rising antisemitism and increasing hate on our streets, we take these threats very seriously.

“Using social media to encourage

people to endanger Jewish lives is reckless and racist. You don’t need to be a professor to understand this.”

Bradley, 78, who has had numerous academic works published, wrote her “blow up the venue” post in response to another incendiary message suggesting the JLM event on 14 January was where “every racist, nonce and s***house in Britain” would be.

Jewish News has asked Bradley for comment.

TikTok users who spend just 30 minutes a day on the site increase the chance of holding “antisemitic or anti-Israel” views, compared with other social media platforms, a survey shows.

According to the US-based study, the likelihood increased by 17 percent, compared with six percent on Instagram and two percent on X. The report was carried out by Anthony Goldbloom, the founder of data science company Kaggle, which was acquired by Google in 2017, alongside other tech individuals.

It suggests TikTok – which has more than one billion monthly users – is shaping antiIsrael views among 18-29 year olds.

Goldbloom, who published the findings on X last week, said: “TikTok users are more likely to believe Jewish people are dishonest in business, are disloyal to America and have too much power in the media.

“They are also more likely to disagree that Israel has a right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it.

“This is not surprising when you consider that for every view of a TikTok video with a pro-Israel hashtag in the US, there are 54 views of videos with pro-Palestinian hashtags,” said Goldbloom.

“In fact, FreePalestine is currently one of the top-performing hashtags across all of TikTok.” This is even the case in Israel when it comes to hashtags on the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

OUR ACADEMIA HAS MUCH TO ANSWER FOR

BY ALEX BRUMMER CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

There are many more narratives to events in Israel and the Middle East since the barbarism of 7 October than those to which we have been exposed. The natural response of any foreign correspondent is to get to the front and report on the ‘bang-bang’ and avoid going deeper.

Here in Britain, there has been a shocking recognition among Jews that a narrative of Israel-hatred, bleeding into virulent antisemitism has taken hold.

What is perhaps most disturbing is it has lodged in great liberal institutions, notably universities. It is no surprise that Jewish students have been targeted on some campuses. That, as harsh as it is for those waving children and young friends off to university, has been the case for decades.

In a way, exposing young people brought up in the relative sheltered early 21st century

to the reality of ancient hatreds and how to use their voices to combat them could equip them for lives to come.

What is unacceptable is when the faculty becomes part of the problem.

There has long been a suspicion on the political right that some university faculties are hotbeds of Marxist dogma. The concern is that the Socialist Workers Party, which demonstrated on behalf of Hamas as the embers of Jewish victims were still burning in October, has infiltrated campuses.

An informal dinner last week, intended to ease the tension for Jewish colleagues from a leading City advisory firm, produced several disturbing accounts of affected young people.

Some Jewish parents at Channing School in Highgate had found it necessary to form a WhatsApp group following what they regarded as an inadequate response by the hierarchy to an antisemitic daubing.

Portrayed as a one-off, it clearly exposed a divide between some Jewish students and those with an Islamic background. It was felt that the school could have dealt with it better by addressing underlying issues within the school curriculum and by using assemblies to build understanding.

As worrying was an account from an international relations class at Glasgow University. On the day of a major pro-Palestinian demonstration in the city, the lecturer informed students that if they wanted to join the protesters they were free to do so. They would be marked as present in the class.

Jewish students felt it would be injudicious to object to this incitement since the same academic would be marking examinations.

There is a profound ignorance of the arc of radicalism which runs through the Middle East and how it casts Israel as representatives of colonialism.

Some time ago, I wrote in this column of my conversation with my Palestinian dry cleaner who works on one of Kensington’s most genteel streets.

The scion of a Palestinian family that fled to the Lebanon in 1948, he had told me in the past he preferred Hamas to Fatah/Palestinian Authority (PA) because Hamas provided his Palestinian kith and kin with social care services. The PA was corrupt and did nothing for his people.

Now, some two months after the unimaginable attacks of 7 October and accompanied by a non-Jewish colleague, I inquired politely

if his family were OK. He responded positively, noting that everyone in the region was hurting and that Lebanon was a mess.

Tempting fate, the next question was had his mind changed on Hamas?

It triggered an angry response. No one should believe Hamas had killed, raped and tortured 1,200 Jews. It was a conventional military attack and the alleged ghastly war crimes were propaganda of the Israeli state.

The videos and films provided to the media and others were the work of the IDF and designed to blacken the reputation of Hamas and allow Israel to bomb Gaza.

There was no point in retort. I was pleased to recover my shirts.

The profound ignorance of someone of Palestinian origins, indoctrinated from birth with hatred of Jews and Israel, is disturbing, wrong and terrifying. It shows how impossible it may be for Israel to eradicate a hateful doctrine. What is as troubling is how such views have infected and corrupted UK academia and public discourse.

This year it has been a little harder to lift the melancholy as we have illuminated the Chanukah lights. But we should make every effort to do so.

18 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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THE TRUTH BEHIND THESE 5 AFIB MYTHS

What is Atrial Fibrillation?

Butterflies in your stomach can signal excitement or nervousness, but fluttering in the chest can signal a short circuit in the heart’s natural electrical wiring, called arrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation (Afib), the most common arrhythmia, is an off-speed rhythm in the heart’s upper chambers.

Afib may be linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart failure, chronic lung disease or simply aging. But in 10% of cases, Afib isn’t associated with any other disease, says Dr Matt Wright, a consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Cleveland Clinic London.

Afib can cause heart palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, chest discomfort and shortness of breath. However, up to 30% of Afib episodes don’t cause symptoms. Dr Wright addresses some common Afib myths: Myth #1: If you had just one or two episodes of Afib, it probably won’t return.

Fact: Atrial fibrillation almost always recurs. You’ll need lifelong treatment to minimise symptoms and to avoid stroke and heart failure. Early on, Afib episodes are usually sporadic and go away on their own – called paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

“Over time, episodes usually become more frequent and last longer”, says Dr Wright. “Up to 30% of Afib episodes don’t cause symptoms.

But high-risk patients still need treatment to prevent stroke”.

Your cardiologist will work with you to find the best treatment.

This may include lifestyle changes, medicine, procedures or surgery.

Myth #2: If you take medication for Afib and no longer have symptoms, you’re cured.

Fact: Afib cannot be totally cured.

“Ablation or surgery offers the closest possible symptom relief”, says Dr Wright. “Although there is no rush to undergo ablation if you are doing well on medication, ablation gives the option to stop medication, especially if you’re experiencing side effects. Ablation is safe even for patients in their 60s and 70s”.

Stress, sleep apnoea, alcohol and caffeinated drinks can trigger Afib episodes, and your cardiologist can answer any of your concerns.

Meanwhile, lifestyle changes can minimise symptoms and improve heart health: • Stop smoking • Only drink alcohol in moderation • Ask about exercise guidelines • Limit caffeine • Read cough and cold medicines labels to avoid those containing stimulants • Seek treatment for sleep apnoea • Control blood sugar levels Myth #3: Your medicine isn’t working if you still get episodes of Afib.

Fact: Medication doesn’t cure Afib, but you’ll get symptoms less often and they won’t last as long. Your treatment is adequate if

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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If you take medication for Afib and no longer have symptoms, are you cured?

Is your medicine working if you still get episodes of Afib?

Can cardioversion can stop Afib for good?

Knowing the facts can make all the difference.

it reduces episodes from frequent to occasional, as long as the symptoms don’t trouble you. However, medications tend to become less effective over time. When that happens, another treatment like catheter ablation is more likely to help.

Myth #4: Catheter ablation won’t help you if it doesn’t take the first time.

Sometimes, your cardiologist may recommend a pacemaker to treat the slow heartbeat caused by Afib medications. However, the pacemaker by itself doesn’t convert or help maintain normal rhythm.

For more information about arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation treatment at Cleveland Clinic London or to schedule a consultation, call +44 20 3423 7500.

Fact: Catheter ablation uses radiofrequency (heat) energy or cryoenergy (intense cold) to interrupt faulty electrical pathways in the heart. Sometimes, you’ll need it more than once to get the desired result.

“The success rate of 70 to 80% after one catheter ablation goes up to 90% after a second or third one if there’s no underlying heart disease”, says Dr Wright. “Maze surgery or a hybrid procedure (surgery and ablation) may be recommended when Afib is chronic, or there’s underlying heart disease with severe enlargement of the upper chambers”.

Book with us today at

Myth #5: Cardioversion can stop Afib for good.

Fact: Electrical cardioversion can “shock” the heart back to normal rhythm, but it doesn’t guarantee a continued normal rhythm.

You may need medication or ablation to maintain normal heart rhythm and minimise the risk of your arrhythmia recurring.

“Up to three types of medication are used together to treat Afib: those that control heart rate (like beta blockers), anti-arrhythmic drugs to help maintain normal rhythm, and anticoagulants (blood thinners) to prevent blood clots and reduce stroke risk”, says Dr Wright.

clevelandcliniclondon.uk

Dr Matt Wright

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21

ISRAEL AT WAR

Healing a traumatised nation that no longer sleeps at night The chair of Israel’s national mental health NGO says the huge increase in its workload began the moment Hamas attacked, writes Jenni Frazer “If you were writing this as a script,” Emi Palmor tells me, “I would say, ‘This is not going to be a good movie, because it doesn’t make sense, it’s exaggerated.’ But it’s a real story.”

Palmor, chair of Natal, Israel’s national NGO specialising in trauma and resilience support, relates details of a new case, to illustrate how almost every sector of society has been affected by the events of 7 October.

“We’ve just accepted a case of a 22-year-old woman who was at the music festival, whose boyfriend was murdered in front of her eyes.

She was on the phone for eight hours with her mother, trying to get help, sharing with her everything that was happening, the helplessness of being stuck there and nobody coming to aid her – until her phone battery ran out”.

Now the mother had approached Natal and asked for therapy. “She wasn’t there, she doesn’t live in the south, but [she wanted help] because of the experiences of that day, and having to handle the trauma of her daughter, who was mourning her boyfriend and is completely heartbroken”.

But in what Palmor calls “the craziness of Mourners at the funeral in Jerusalem of IDF soldier Shilo Rauchberger. Natal helps people exposed to a wide range of trauma Israeli reality”, the daughter had decided to People in Israel could not sleep at night, in their homes. It’s a completely different them with the challenges of how to communido her reserve duty in the IDF, serving at one Palmor said. She had tried to explain to a cate to their children what had been happening. approach to therapy and to intervention.” of the army bases which was attacked on 7 non-Jewish friend what had changed in Israeli Anyone exposed to any sort of trauma Three hundred parents took part in that October. The mother said that this was part society since 7 October. “I raised my children is likely to apply to Natal for help: first webinar, with four of our therapists.” of her daughter’s way of coping, since her in Jerusalem during the bus-bombings and responders, those who gathered bodies from Those working on the Natal helplines are boyfriend had served at the same base.

I tried as much as possible to drive them to the south, those who had to tell families of a usually trained for six months or more. Thanks Natal was founded in 1998 and operschool so that they didn’t have to use the buses. relative’s death, or social workers working with to Covid, Palmor says, volunteers were used ates throughout Israel with a crack team of But sometimes I couldn’t, and in a way you the huge numbers of displaced families. Each to working remotely and more people were professional therapists and psychologists who come to accept that it [being the victim of a situation could trigger mental health problems. trained to staff the helplines —plus new specialise in trauma and mental health. bus-bomb] might be your fate. But, I told her, In what Palmor called a “a national trauma”, therapists were taken on. “Before Initially, access is through two now I cannot sleep at night from the thought she added that Israelis were asking themselves the war we had between 300 to helplines, one for veterans of that my daughter might be raped, tortured “what does it mean to be Jewish? What about 800 people in our clinics. We security forces, such as the and mutilated before she dies. It’s like a risk the rise in antisemitism, and what does it mean have now accepted 1,000 new army and police, and the assessment that we tried to handle and where patients who we have referred in terms of Israeli nationality? A lot of Israelis other for victims of terror. we trusted our government to protect us. Here, who were not very aware of their Jewish to one-on-one therapy”.

In ‘normal’ times, identity in the global context — they could work the boundaries that were crossed in terms of Palmor, a lawyer who Palmor says, each helpline cruelty and barbarism… we don’t need to hear anywhere, they were from the ‘start-up nation’ headed Israel’s Ministry of receives about 24,000 calls the stories, though we do want to hear them. We — all of a sudden they are very shocked by Justice, made clear that often a year. Each call would last will have years to learn what happened.” understanding what it means to be Jewish.” the therapists themselves 20-30 minutes, while the Natal, however, was both learning from Natal is learning as it goes along in how needed support. “We had many person went through a panic other experiences — such as 9/11 — and helping to deal with long-term collective trauma, volunteer therapists from all over attack or expressed anxiety, to create new knowledge on trauma. It had something Israeli society has never had to face the country, who were working whatever they needed to share Emi Palmor, chair of Natal with displaced families and who received visits from Ukrainians whom it before, although Palmor, as the daughter of a with Natal’s staff. trained to deal with victims of war with Russia, Romanian Holocaust survivor, is well aware were not themselves trained in In the four weeks following 7 and had continued to work remotely with them. that the Jewish people have overcome serious trauma intervention. They asked us for help October, there were 16,000-17,000 calls. Many Natal was also working with first responders and sustained trauma before now. because they were traumatised, from being people, says Palmor, were already Natal clients in New Jersey and with the National Guard of But she noted that “part of the collective in touch with the families and being overand were calling from 6.30am from their safe Wisconsin, and with schools in Germany. trauma” experienced by Israelis was to do with whelmed by the issues they had to deal with.” rooms as Hamas attacked. “People living in “We are now developing the tools to deal “one of the weapons used by Hamas – phoNatal’s chief psychologist, Dr Itamar the Gaza Envelope might have suffered from with collective trauma,” Palmor said. “That’s tographing and filming everything that they Barnea, was a prisoner of war during the PTSD because of previous rocket attacks, and the only thing I can feel confident about, that did and livestreaming it on social media or on Yom Kippur War. “He was a pilot who was Natal was the first body to be available, because we have the best and most committed people – direct messaging”. The new thing, Palmor said, captured by the Syrians and was tortured we work 24/7 and we have the capability and and the best intentions.” was not simply the brutality itself but “a mental for eight months. He suggested that people capacity to receive a huge amount of calls.”  Donations to Natal can be made to health weapon to attack our resilience, to trauhave to be prepared to get out of our clinics By the evening of 7 October, Natal already UK Friends of Natal at PayPal Giving matise a nation. It’s a very powerful weapon.” and go and visit the families [of the hostages] had a webinar ready for parents “to support

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ISRAEL AT WAR

‘Israel can never go back to the way it was before’ The events of 7 October left anger, confusion and doubt in the wake of a preventable intelligence and military failure, writes Richard Miron Ilanit Suissa stands amid a nightmare in the place that was once home to her dreams.

Around her is a scene of destruction, shards of glass alongside lumps of concrete, ashes and destroyed buildings. This is Kibbutz Kfar Aza, once home to 800 people, now a crime scene. On 7 October, Hamas rampaged into the settlement, killing 62 people and taking 18 captive.

“My heart is not just broken because of the Holocaust that took place here, but also because my whole agenda and ideology has broken down. I don’t know what to believe any more,” Suissa says.

She has come back with her partner Chezi for the first time since the massacre to gather a few items

including a book and a keepsake for her 13-year-old daughter from her now deserted home.

“I really believed in peace, I was one of the people who fought for it,” she says on the verge of tears. As a writer and filmmaker, she described the lives of the Gazans just beyond the border fence that was smashed during the Hamas attack.

Like many kibbutzniks around Gaza, she identified with the left in Israel, what was called the “peace camp”. All that changed amid the horror of 7 October.

On the day Hamas stormed into the kibbutz killing and abducting all they could find, Suissa sheltered in her safe room with Chezi, her mother and daughter. The gunmen didn’t

attack her home but many neighbours were murdered as they hid.

For her, it is not just Hamas that stands guilty. She also blames ordinary Palestinians – “I can’t imagine I will ever speak to someone from Gaza. Unfortunately, I feel every one of them had a part of what happened.”

Men from Gaza used to come to the kibbutz to work, returning home at the end of the day. Evidence gathered by the Israeli army and police suggests some took the opportunity to gather information for Hamas, from the layout of homes to entry codes for the kindergartens.

Suissa is far from alone in reassessing her thoughts and beliefs. The lives of millions of Israelis have been forever transformed by 7 October.

I have been visiting Israel for more than 40 years and spent 11 years living in the country. But to go there now is to experience a different place, one that is permeated with anger, confusion and doubt.

Most Israelis are still struggling to understand the scale of the intelligence and military failure that allowed some 3,000 armed men to break through the country’s muchvaunted defences and rampage freely for hours before any organised military response was taken.

Kfar Aza and other communities were simply abandoned by those who were meant to protect them.

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Ilanit Suissa and her partner Chezi

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23

ISRAEL AT WAR figure spoke to me of the collapse not just of the physical defences but of the military and strategic doctrines that underpinned Israel’s approach to Gaza. Like many, he is bewildered and shocked by the extent of Israel’s failure on that day.

He had no clear answers about how it could have happened, only saying the security establishment was in the “initial phase of understanding” what went wrong and why – little comfort to those whose loved ones were killed or taken hostage.

Warnings of suspicious activity in Gaza before 7 October were ignored.

Female soldiers acting as spotters on the border repeatedly reported concerns of unusual movements and exercises by Hamas near the fence.

Politicians and security officials dismissed them – they didn’t align with the prescribed thinking that Hamas was contained, and not a threat.

Michael Milshtein was one who spoke out to the contrary. Now an academic, he previously headed the Department of Palestinian Affairs in Israeli Army Intelligence.

He insisted Hamas was wedded to its jihadist roots and was planning to strike Israel. His surprise, he says, was not that the attack occurred but rather the scale and level of brutality.

“The world that existed until 7 October has changed,” he says – “it has exploded the considerations of everyone in the military and politics.” As he explains, for the political left this means the notion of two peoples living in harmony as good neighbours in two states has gone.

The new consensus Milshtein describes is of separation from the Palestinians, a scenario in which they would gain some form of limited independence built around Israel’s security requirements rather than Palestinian aspirations. This would mean a demilitarised entity with Israel controlling all external borders and complete separation; something considerably less than the Palestinians have demanded.

Milshtein equally insists recent events have destroyed the ideas that underpin the Israeli right. Its national religious ideology aspires to hold on

Devastation and death where life once thrived in Kfar Aza

to the West Bank and build ever more settlements on land that is home to two and a half million Palestinians.

“We and the Palestinians can’t live in one entity,’ he says, “ninety-five percent of Israel reject that idea.”

Milshtein and other military experts now speak of a “divorce” and a physical division between Israelis and Palestinians on the ground, living on separate sides of a border.

TEARING UP THE OLD POLITICAL MAP Within Israeli itself there is visceral anger among many I met from all parts of society: religious, secular, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, rich and poor.

Much of it is directed toward one man, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s self-proclaimed Mr Security and the country’s longest serving prime minister. He has refused to take responsi-

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bility for what happened on 7 October and even as the army was fighting in Gaza sought to shift the blame on to the security establishment. His evasiveness has only increased the fury felt by many towards him.

Those who know Bibi up close say he will do everything he can to remain in office. “He won’t go willingly,’ says Nachman Shai, a former government minister and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party and the nowdefunct Kadima Party.

Shai has sat across from Netanyahu for years in the Knesset and is damning about the prime minister and the responsibility he bears for what has happened to the country not just in the past two months but over the past few years.

“Israel was not united, Israel was not capable,” he says.

Shai recalls what was going on

*

before 7 October. The country was bitterly divided with mass protests as Netanyahu tried to force through a “reform” of the judicial system.

This initiative for institutional change was in fact a clumsy attempt by the prime minister to concentrate power in his hands and limit the independence of the judiciary as he faced a trial on corruption charges, he says.

During the months of protests, pilots and many military reservists began in increasing numbers to refuse to serve, saying Netanyahu’s planned “reforms” were a deliberate attempt to destroy Israeli democracy.

The chief of staff of the army warned the prime minister of the harm being done to military preparedness. Netanyahu not only dismissed these concerns but also refused to meet the chief in person as the urgency grew.

Sitting in a café near his home a few miles west of Jerusalem, Shai considers what this means for the country and his own political camp.

‘The Labour Party is dying’, he says – its leader, Merav Michaeli, has recently announced she intends to leave politics and for there to be a “new start”.

As Shai ponders the future of his once political home, a former local Labour activist approaches to discuss who might replace Netanyahu if and when he is forced from power.

No mention is made of any figure from the Left to which they both belong. Shai knows the political map of old has disappeared in the

Supporting the community

ashes of 7 October 7. For him this is not necessarily a bad thing.

“I hope every aspect of Israeli life is changed. Not just politics, but also the military, our social structure, education, the constitution, the situation of Israeli Arabs and Druze citizens.”

BACK TO BASICS FOR THE FUTURE His sentiments find echoes on the streets of Tel Aviv, where pictures of the remaining hostages held in Gaza plaster walls and lampposts. Huge electronic billboards line the main highway through the city calling for the hostages to be returned and declaring “United - we will win”.

But behind the slogans sits real pain and concern for the future.

Chanan Lachs has come from his home outside Tel Aviv to support the families of the hostages who are maintaining a vigil in front of the city’s main museum.

In the concrete plaza are signs of the different communities struck on 7 October; Be’eri, Nahal Oz and many others. People mill about, looking at the pictures of those abducted and the empty places laid for every one of them at a long dining table.

Lachs talks of the personal importance of seeing the hostages freed, recalling his father who spent ten months in captivity in Egypt after the War of Independence in 1948.

Lach’s words are choked with tears as he talks about his family, who survived the Holocaust and made their way to Israel and his pride in his daughter now serving in the army.

His voice clears as he declares: “The past few years we have had a leadership that has violated the contract with the people and Zionism. I very much hope this crisis will bring us renewal and real Zionism.”

The course of the war being fought in Gaza will dictate for Israel what comes next, both in contending with the external threats to the country and the internal challenges.

But whatever happens there is a difficult and painful path ahead to an unknown destination and only one certainty – Israel will never go back to the way it was before 7 October.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

BBC platforms doctor Cardiff students feel ‘unsafe on campus’ who told Gazans to ‘fight back’ after 7 October A British doctor appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship programme four days after it was revealed he urged Palestinians to “fight back and die in dignity” immediately after 7 October, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

London-based Dr Ghassan AbuSittah promoted a post on 8 October which claimed civilians in Gaza should resist as they were “going to die anyway”.

It reads: “We know Israel is going to kill us anyways. We are starving, we are being besieged, we are being dispossessed, we are being displaced. We know all of this. Israel is going to kill us anyways. Israel wants us kneeling… So why not fight back and die in dignity?”

Despite this, the BBC invited Abu-Sittah to the programme as a guest alongside Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh was wounded and taken hostage by Hamas.

Abu-Sittah and Goldberg were

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

interviewed by presenter Edward Stourton, who introduced Abu Sittah as a “professor just returned from Gaza where he was operating in the Anglican run al-Ahli hospital”.

In the interview, Abu Sittah claims he was operating as a surgeon while the hospital was totally “surrounded”, alluding to IDF troops, with al-Ahli “the only functioning hospital in the whole of Gaza city”.

He tells Stourton a “missile attack” had damaged the hospital without clarifying, as has been internationally proven by overwhelming evidence, the catastrophic explosions were the result of misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets.

None of Abu Sittah’s claims is challenged by Stourton, who asks him how he felt about leaving his patients behind. Sounding tearful, Abu Sittah claims he was “overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal” as Stourton apologises for asking “distressing questions”.

Goldberg, interviewed for less time, expresses concern for Palestinians in Gaza, saying: “We are always devastated when innocent civilians are trapped anywhere in a war zone. We feel terrible sadness.”

She goes on to express concern for all civilians still held hostage by terrorists, adding: “The only two children who are still left there are British citizens.”

Jewish students at Cardiff University have said they do not feel safe on campus after an AGM of the student union overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for “a ceasefire now”, writes Jenni Frazer.

The resolution did not refer to the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, but called for the union to hold education events to include teaching students “how to spot lies and propaganda from the state of Israel and the Israel Defence Forces”.

Such “lies and propaganda” would include, the proposers of the motion say, “biblical justification of the occupation of Palestine, extent of the damage to Israel, location of Hamas bases, etc”.

A university spokesperson said that authorities were “deeply concerned” by the response of Jewish students and its deputy vice-chancellor was meeting the Jewish Society to discuss the situation.

In a statement, the university said it had “written to all students to reiterate the absolute need to behave with dignity and respect to all and setting out our zero-tolerance attitude to harassment and discrimination of all kinds on campus”.

The spokesperson added the university was undertaking an ongoing review to be published “in due course” of student behaviours at the AGM and other events, and remained in close contact with the union.

In a statement on social media after the AGM, members of Cardiff JSoc said Jewish students who wanted to speak on the motion, were “intimidated, abused, and harassed” while one who took the stage to urge peace and dialogue was shouted down and had to be escorted from the debate for his own safety.

It added: “We refuse to be intimidated into not being proud of our Jewish identity. In a previous meeting with the university, they found it hard to believe Jewish students were having a difficult time on campus. Do you understand now?”

In response, the union insisted “no students were escorted from the meeting for their own safety” and it was “saddened to hear about the upset and fear from the Jewish student community”. It added: “To be clear, the Students’ Union will not tolerate any form of discrimination and is committed to supporting Jewish students to feel safe.”

We’re ‘four-square’ behind effort to free hostages – Dowden Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden has said the government will do all it can to help Israel secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.

Speaking alongside Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis at a vigil in Borehamwood,

Dowden said the UK was “four-square” behind Israel in its efforts to remove the threat of Hamas.

He added: “I stand before you, not just as the deputy prime minister nor the member for Hertsmere, but

as a proud friend of Israel and supporter of our Jewish community ... the government stands four-square behind the central missions of Israel, of the Israel Defence Forces, of the Israeli government ... to secure the release of every

one of these hostages, and we will stand four-square until that is delivered.

“But not only that, we must ensure that this cannot happen again, and that means, however difficult it is, we have to remove the threat of Hamas

to stop it being able to do this to Israel again, and we stand four-square behind Israel in that mission as well.”

Around 150 people attended the vigil, holding red balloons and placards calling for the release of the hostages.

Between speeches, the crowd sang traditional Jewish songs and some men and women could be seen crying.

The Borehamwood vigils have been taking place weekly and are expected to carry on until all hostages are freed.

FA IS SORRY FOR THE PAIN IT CAUSED

BY DEBBIE HEWITT

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION CHAIR

First, I want to say thank you to Jewish News for giving us the opportunity to reach out and connect with you.

The barbaric acts of terror by Hamas in Israel on the 7 October were a deep shock to us all. Our response was motivated by a desire to unite rather than divide, built on a hope, which we all share, to see peace in the region. We recognise that this is a deeply traumatic time for the Jewish community in the United Kingdom and beyond and we are truly sorry for the hurt our response caused.

The impact of the 7 October terror attacks on the Jewish community is unimaginable, as is the impact of the profoundly worrying rise in antisemitism in England.

We have reflected deeply on how football can help to eradicate it.

We want football to be a place of safety,

consolation and enjoyment in these dark times and, indeed, always.

Our very clear starting point is that there is no place for antisemitism or any discrimination in football. Whether covert or overt, we simply will not tolerate it.

Whether it is manifested in words or actions, its impact is hurtful and lasting, and it has absolutely no place in our game or in the lives of our nation.

Football is a game that unites millions of people across the world, and we believe in its ability to bring communities together.

For many of us, the friends we enjoy football with originally come from our faith communities, with football and faith interacting as part of our daily lives.

This includes our Jewish communities, and you should feel welcomed and supported by football at every level of the game.

We are pro-actively looking at what more we can do to ensure that is exactly how you do feel now and for the future.

Following close dialogue with Jewish leaders and football’s anti-discrimination body, Kick It Out, we continue to deepen our understanding of the issues.

Sadly, we know that discrimination in the game is under-reported and we have much to learn from the team at the Community Security Trust who can help us to understand exactly where and how antisemitic behaviour infiltrates the game.

We need your help in ensuring it is reported and we are strongly committed to working with our county FAs to ensure that we respond to all incidents promptly, sensitively and with the rigour that will drive positive change.

While listening and understanding is the first thing on our agenda, the second is education and action.

We will reinforce our current work in fighting discrimination by delivering further antisemitism awareness education through Kick It Out. These sessions will be used to engage throughout the season with those leading and organising the grassroots game, and are planned to start early in the new year.

We will support this work with the creation of an antisemitism football taskforce involving key Jewish stakeholders such as Maccabi GB. Our aim is to review our

current antisemitism work, measure and monitor progress and adopt new approaches to respond to the current climate.

This group will take input from across football, including from Jewish players.

Finally, Wembley Stadium will always be a venue where we want everyone from every community to feel at home.

In recent years, the FA has hosted many thousands of guests across a variety of faiths at Wembley Stadium and at wider football locations across the country.

It is a great example of how football can bring people together, something we believe in and will always strive for.

We are continuing our ‘Faith and Football Series’ by celebrating Chanukah at Wembley Stadium this month, working closely with Jewish News to deliver the event.

We know we have to earn your trust and we hope that over time we will be able to build back our relationships with anyone who felt let down.

We warmly welcome you all to join us again to share our common love of football; faith and football in partnership united by our desire for a better future.

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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28 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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News / Kinder portraits

One Life: portraits of the Kinder

Dr Peter Schiller

Vera Schaufeld MBE

Alexandra Greensted

Renate Collins

Gerda Svarny

Lia Lesser

Dr Lisa Midwinter

The Rt Hon Lord (Alfred) Dubs

The Rev John Fieldsend BEM

Eva Paddock

Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines MBE

by Jenni Frazer jenni@jennifrazer.com @Jennifrazer

A collection of new photographs of child refugees rescued on the Kindertransports has been launched online at the National Portrait Gallery, commissioned

by Warner Brothers to celebrate the release of One Life, its film about the wartime rescue of the children

by Sir Nicholas Winton.

The 11 portraits were taken

by Simon Hill, president of the Royal Photographic Society.

Each of the Kinder, 85 years after their rescue, was asked to bring some memento, such as a toy or a book, which they brought with them when they arrived in the UK from Czechoslovakia.

Hill, who took the pictures during a special reunion of Kindertransportees at the BFI London Film Festival, where One Life was shown, said: “It was such an enormous privilege to be in the presence of these remarkable people who withstood one of the darkest chapters of human history.

Their eyes, weathered by the weight of history, speak volumes about the resilience that transcends trauma and serves as a poignant reminder of the capacity for hope and renewal.”

The online exhibition also includes a portrait of Sir Nicholas Winton, taken in 2009

by Henry Browne for the NPG. Tanya Bentley, who has curated the exhibition, has added interviews with the Kinder and an introduction by the director of One Life, James Hawes.

Bentley, who is curator of the NPG’s Contemporary Collection, said: “The National Portrait Gallery tells the stories of those who have shaped — and continue to shape – the nation, so it is our privilege to work in collaboration with Warner Bros Pictures to celebrate the lives of the Winton Kindertransportees and the courageous actions of Sir Nicholas Winton.”

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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31

Kinder reunion / EcoShabbat / JWA chief / JFS turnaround / News

Kinder gather at train station they arrived at 85 years ago The children had arrived at Liverpool Street Station on the eve of war, scared, shy, with labels around their necks, clutching battered suitcases and favourite toys, and often not speaking a word of English, writes Jenni Frazer.

On Sunday, some of those children gathered again at Liverpool Street for a ceremony to mark 85 years since the arrival of the first Kindertransport train.

This time the former Kinder, many of whom were rescued from Austria and Czechoslovakia by Sir Nicholas Winton and his team, were, with their extended families, the guests of honour. Nearly 200 people remembered their arrival in Britain and paid tribute to those who had brought them, fostered them and in some cases adopted them.

The ceremony was held under the joint auspices of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) and World Jewish Relief (WJR), the latter being the successor to the wartime Central British Fund, which was the main body involved in bringing

the children to the UK and placing them with families. The event took place at the station’s Hope Square, next to the Kindertransport statue sculpted by artist Frank Meisler, himself a Kind from Danzig.

Henry Grunwald KC, president of WJR, told the crowd that the first 150 children had arrived in London on 2 December 1938. “Over the next nine months, almost 10,000, mainly but not entirely Jewish children, were saved. Their journeys through Europe ended here at Liverpool Street Station. This is where their new life began.”

He spoke of the “anguish” parents must have been felt when putting their children on those trains, “sending them into an unknown future”. Today, he said, the Kindertransport “continues to inspire WJR” in its work in 23 countries around the world “both within and beyond the Jewish community, to alleviate the suffering of those of all faiths, and none”. Grunwald added: “We say proudly, in the 1930s we saved refugees because they were

Albert Lester, Ruth Hayter and John Fieldsend at Sunday’s event

Jewish. Now, we save refugees to help them because we are Jewish.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis paid warm tribute to the Kinder — “for what you have done and what you continue to do. You rebuilt your lives. You guarantee that today there are hundreds of thousands of descendants of your parents, who so bravely sent their children to

their freedom and their safety. You transferred darkness into light.

You brought hope and positivity to a world which was so very fragile at the time.” When there was war raging in Israel and a rise in antisemitism worldwide, he said, the Kinder were a source of “guidance and inspiration. From you, we learn that good will triumph over evil.”

David Carden, grandson of Charlie and Daisy Carden, who fostered seven-year-old Alexandra Greensted when she arrived from Prague in 1939, read a moving testimony from Greensted, whom he referred to as “my aunt Alex”.

Greensted, whose father and two elder brothers were murdered at Auschwitz, said: “It is deeply moving to be back at Liverpool Street Station, 85 years after the Nazis tore my world apart and I was given the chance of a new life in Great Britain. Standing side by side with fellow Kindertransport refugees, I’m filled with gratitude for the brave actions of many and the tens of thousands of lives that were saved and a great sadness for those we had to leave behind.”

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of the Masorti movement, recited El Maale Rachamim.

The assembly was also addressed by Lord Pickles, the prime minister’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues. Guests also heard excerpts from a letter sent by the home secretary, James Cleverly.

A meaningfully green Shabbat JFS AWARDED TOP At last weekend’s EcoShabbat – timed to coincide with Cop28 – EcoJudaism communities from across the UK, and of all denominations, reflect on the environment, took steps towards greater sustainability and enjoyed some fun and meaningful environmentally friendly activities.

EcoJudaism community liaison manager Donna Cohen said: “EcoShabbat was a fantastic opportunity for our communities to showcase wonderfully diverse environmental events across the UK.”

A talk at Kol Chai Hatch End Community

Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue held an uplifting service, led by the Shirah Band and featuring readings about nature, followed by a bring and share plant-based dinner.

Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation put on a delicious and creative vegetarian kiddush, Kol Chai Hatch End Reform Jewish Community hosted a talk on environmental policies aimed at reducing carbon emission, and at Barnet United Synagogue Rabbi Dr Samuel Landau delivered a sermon on war and the environment.

West London Synagogue had an exhibition of artwork by members inspired by the environment and Southport & District Reform Synagogue heard a d’var Torah on the Eco Shabbat themes of food waste and ethical investing.

At Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community guests enjoyed an EcoShabbat sermon from Rabbi Anna Gerrard and tikkun olam presentation by upcoming barmitzvah boy Isaac.

MARKS IN SURVEY

JFS has made a remarkable turnaround by becoming the top comprehensive in England and Wales, according to an annual survey.

Europe’s largest Jewish school topped the charts in the Times’ Parent Power guide, which is based on exam results. Two other Jewish schools were among the top 10 UK comprehensives.

Menorah High School for Girls came sixth and Hasmonean High School for Girls seventh. JCoSS made the Top 10 comprehensives in London.

In April 2021, Ofsted rated JFS ‘inadequate’, saying: “Leaders do not ensure that all pupils are safe from harm… many feel that leaders have not protected them from the behaviour

Headteacher David Moody with pupils

of their peers.” The school was put in special measures, resulting in the departure of several senior staff and the arrival of Dr David Moody, who steered it to a ‘good’ rating a year later.

Reacting to the news, he said: “I just want to congratulate all of the students, teachers, support staff and families on what is a truly amazing effort”.

NEW CEO AT JEWISH WOMEN’S AID Jewish Women’s Aid has appointed a new CEO, Sam Clifford, who will take up the role in April 2024.

Clifford is a community stalwart with a varied career in the Jewish charity sector.

Most recently she was executive director of Finchley Reform Synagogue. Previously she was interim co-director of the Jewish Museum, having also held the position of director of development.

Clifford also spent five years working as a freelance

project manager supporting organisations such as the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Lead, the Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN), the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Women in Jewish Leadership, NisaNashim: the Jewish Muslim Women’s Network and Moishe House alongside working as the first professional director of the Yoni Jesner Foundation.

She was one of the founding professional staff of Lead, the Jewish Leadership Council’s leadership development divi-

sion working on their leadership programmes and events.

Clifford said she was “incredibly honored” to have been appointed to role at JWA role, which supports women affected by domestic abuse and violence.

Caroline Ratner, chair of trustees, said the board looked forward to working with Clifford in the spring.

She takes over from Monica Tuohy, who stepped in following the departure of Alison Rosen after one month in post.

I HAVE A LITTLE DREIDEL, I TOOK IT INTO SPACE...

Nasa astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli took this photo last week of a dreidel spinning in zero gravity and the chanukiah she used to celebrate Chanukah on the International Space Station. Unable to light a match in the orbital lab, she stuck a felt cutout of a chanukiah on to a window and each night of the festival added one more stick-on flame

32 Jewish News 14 December 2023

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Editorial comment and letters

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

You recently (Jewish News 9 November) carried a contemptible piece by Richard Miron, a one-time BBC Middle East reporter and former spokesperson for the UN’s general secretary’s envoy in Jerusalem.

These are qualifications that hardly ensure his unbiased reportage.

I could not imagine that after the 7 October atrocity, Jewish News would amplify today’s most ubiquitous blood libel. I was wrong.

The pejorative term ‘settlers’, referring to half a million Israeli citizens living legally across the Green Line, is code for Jews having no right to be there, which is why an industry of lies has been created about ‘settler violence’ to justify that canard.

For years, violence has been perpetrated

by Palestinian Arabs against Jews, incited and choreographed by some anti-Israel NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and the European Union [EU], necessitating life-saving reactions of self-defence.

Miron ignores the six or seven daily terror attacks against Jews in the ‘West Bank’, usually unreported by the media, or of the horrific murders of the Dee family, ambushed and shot at point blank range on Pesach; the assassination of the two young brothers,

Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in Huwara in February, or of father and son Silas Nigreker and Avidan Nir from Ashdod, gunned down at a car wash, again in Huwara, in August, by way of examples.

Yet he talks about “murders of Palestinian civilians by settlers” without naming a single one.

As to “land appropriations”, these are indeed continuing on a massive scale thanks to Arab illegal building in Area C in the West Bank, under sole Israeli jurisdiction, defying the Oslo accords, which have now shrunk the area by one-third since 1993.

His selective reportage is nothing more than propaganda, and clearly there was no due diligence by Jewish News in promoting this false, shameless narrative.

Warren S Grossman, Leytonstone

MISSION PARTICIPANTS CHUCK OUT YOUR TV I was disappointed with your coverage of the United Synagogue’s mission to Israel last month.

While you gave full coverage to the Chief Rabbi’s participation, you did not even mention it was a United Synagogue mission until the final paragraph, and for some reason mentioned only the four rabbis who attended and not the four other attendees.

Maybe you were not aware that Michael Goldstein, president of the United Synagogue, Jo Grose, its CEO, David Collins, its chief operating officer, and Eva Chapper, senior rebbetzin of Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue, all took part in the mission and visited all the places the Chief Rabbi went to, including a very moving visit to the Kotel.

Sylvia Hartman, By email

Your correspondent Daniel Saunders suggests that people refuse to pay their TV licence in protest against the BBC’s policy of lies and slander when it comes to reporting about Israel (Jewish News 23 November), but is concerned that this is illegal, which means that this suggestion is ‘neither here nor there’.

A much better idea that is 100 percent legal would be for everyone to get rid of their TVs altogether and divorce themselves from the toxic media. This would not only deprive the BBC of its revenue, but would be therapeutic for us. Just think, it could spew its ‘news’ only to its supporters and into thin air.

Suzy Bennett, Edgware

I recently visited friends and colleagues across Israel for five days.

I was shocked to find Ben Gurion Airport empty of travellers and was met with surprise and kind interrogation at passport control as to why on earth I was visiting.

Following surprise comments from friends, I write to appeal to the community to reinstate your visit plans or book anew. I discovered personal presence around a

We were delighted to welcome the president of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, and her husband, Adrian Cohen, to the Wimbledon Synagogue last month.

They came to a Kabbalat Shabbat service, which was followed by a well-attended and convivial chavurah supper.

On Shabbat, Marie van der Zyl delivered a very interesting sermon.

She told the congregation about her recent and emotional visits to Israel and outlined all the good work the Board is doing.

R Bragman, By email

The BBC invited Muslim comedian Guz Khan to host Have I Got News for You despite, or perhaps because of, his assertion that Israel is guilty of “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” in Gaza.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to presume that the BBC, in not objecting to Mr Kahn’s appearance, has more than a little sympathy with his views, especially in light of its claim the programme “fully complies with the BBC’s editorial standards”. At last, the BBC admits to much of what we’ve been accusing it of.

Michael White, N3

BOB DYLAN’S TIMELESS MESSAGE I am not Jewish, but I lost two uncles fighting the Nazis and they would share my disgust at the extent of the rampant antisemitism in 21st-century London. I have long felt that Israel, since 1948, has had a long struggle outside its borders.

Throughout my life, Bob Dylan

has been an abiding presence, and if there is a message over his 60year career, it is tolerance.

That is something that millions fought and died to preserve, including members of my family I never knew.

Patrick Humphries, SE24

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

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table is a real morale booster to our people, who, understandably, feel unnerved, insecure, sad, angry and, in some ways most of all, isolated. I flew from Athens but there are other transfer points.

My conclusion is that Israel is as safe as anywhere right now and no email, Zoom, cheque or supplies match the benefit of a ‘you are not alone’ hug in these terrible times.

David Glasser, NW3

AN UPLIFTING BBC BACKING VISIT BY MARIE FOR KHAN

27 May 2020

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Editorial comment and letters

how ordinary people run their lives.

Look, too, at how Stalin treated his own people as cattle fodder – once again the comments of Hamas ring true about civilian casualties not mattering as long as “victory” is achieved.

I am not Jewish but I don’t want my life dictated by a new set of fascists, claiming justification for their suppression. Mob rule always uses authority to crush the creative individual and this is just a new version of that.

New Year - New You! Bring in the New Year with Joy, Ease and Calm s Il gI in

Are You Struggling With

Tony Sandy, Alness

THIS EVIL THING THAT STAYS THE SAME

Anxiety Relationships Family Issues Teens

I have written a poem about the current state of the world: Everything changes in our modern world black can be white white can be black good can be bad and bad can be good left can be right and right can be left but one thing stays the same antisemitism in its open and veiled forms

Sharon Lukom, By email

THREE RIGHTS CAN’T BE WRONG If we accept the saying, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’, I suggest that ‘Three rights can’t make a wrong’.

The State of Israel has a right to exist. Seeking to destroy Israel is wrong. The Jewish people, like any others, have a fundamental human right to live. Judaism, as one of the first monotheistic religions, has a right to be accepted, and respected. These are three simple, non-negotiable facts of life. I hope that, going forward, right-minded people will appreciate these facts and Israel will be seen to be on the right side of history.

J D Milaric, By email

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inated um

The recent comments by the actress Susan Sarandon, who said, “There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country” led to comments by American Muslims saying they loved the freedom of being in the USA, compared with their countries of origin.

This highlights that the problem with Palestine is not religion but politics.

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Scene & Be Seen / Community

1 BOD PRESIDENT AT WIMBLEDON

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl and her husband Adrian Cohen visited Wimbledon Synagogue last month. They attended a Kabbalat Shabbat service followed by a chavurah supper and, on Shabbat morning, she gave a talk about her recent emotional visits to Israel.

2 WOMEN’S DOUBLE CELEBRATION

The Maccabi Selly Oak Women’s football team at the University of Birmingham recently celebrated its first birthday. Founded and managed by Sam Ucko, the team has grown from an initial six members to 40. It recently achieved its biggest-ever win, with a 10-2 victory over Hapoel Hyde Park Women.

And be seen

The latest news, pictures and social events from across the community

3 JCOSS CHOIR AT JEWISH CARE

JCoSS choir had a brilliant time visiting members of Jewish Care’s Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia, to sing, chat, dance and celebrate Chanukah with the members.

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

4 PUTTING NEW BOOTS IN ISRAEL

Former Israel tour leader Gerome is on reserve duty in Israel. When his tour chanichim (participants) found out he needed new boots, they all chipped in to get him a new pair. A family member in Israel went to deliver them to his unit.

5 ECO CHANUKAH IN EDGWARE

Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue brought together more than 150 children and their parents to a giant Chanukah party with dreidel game stalls and a doughnut wall. The following day they put on an EcoHavdallah Chanukah tea, run by the EHRS EcoTeam with candles made out of beeswax.

6 CREATIVE FESTIVAL AT TUFFKID

Pupils at Kisharon Langdon Tuffkid Nursery embraced the spirit of Chanukah with themed activities, including rolling a ball on paper soaked in oily paint and creating patterns as the paint dripped down. At the easel, candles replaced brushes. Outdoors, a log chanukiah was created, with yellow duck ‘flames’.

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7 RABBI LIGHTS UP WEST MIDLANDS

Roving Rabbi and Rebbetzen Yossi and Rachel Jacobs have covered the entire West Midlands, bringing Chanukah to 400 people. Each night of Chanukah they have gone with their family to a different location, totting up 13 chanukiah lightings place from Birmingham and Wolverhampton to Coventry and Bromsgrove, with other places in between.

8 ON THE BALL

Cousins Danny Gershon, Jamie Gershon and Noah Landau organised a football tournament as part of their barmitzvah project to support Myisrael, raising more than £12,000, while their sister and

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14 December 2023 Jewish News 37

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Community / Scene & Be Seen cousin, Daisy Gershon, spearheaded a netball tournament that raised £15,000.

9 BEAUTY AND THE BAKERS 9

10

Lola and Ariella, Year 4 students at Sacks Morasha, hosted a bake and beauty sale with the help of their fellow pupils, raising nearly £400. The proceeds will be divided between Magen David Adom and Jewish Blind & Disabled. “I am proud of doing this sale and I hope it makes a difference to the people who are suffering in Israel,” said Lola.

10 OFF TO SCHOOL

On the first day of Chanukah, 25 older people who are members of Jewish Care’s Supportive Communities Tea Parties group in north-east London visited Clore Tikvah School for a fun, intergenerational musical Chanukah-themed afternoon. Members enjoyed listening to the school’s choir, and chatted with the students over afternoon tea.

11 CHANUCARE FOR ALL

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The Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia ran a ‘Chanucare’ session for babies and their parents and the centre members who are living with dementia at the weekly intergenerational music and sensory sessions run by Hartbeeps.

12 ALYTH TOURS ITS NEW SPACE

Alyth Synagogue near Golders Green combined the second night of Chanukah with a tour of the new ground floor space being created. The community enjoyed mulled wine and doughnuts as they lit a giant chanukiah.

13 DOUGHNUTS IN BROMLEY 12

Bromley Reform Synagogue held a lighting event for members and their friends and family. A great turnout of all ages was treated to a musical performance and overflowing doughnuts.

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14 PARTIES AT JLIVING

Jewish housing association jLiving held Chanukah parties at Lionel Leighton Court and Wolfson Court. They had an entertainer and delicious food.

15 TRAVELLING CHASSIDIM 15

16 MANCHESTER STUDENTS UNITE

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The Travelling Chassidim visited Bushey for Shabbat Chanukah filled with melodic davening and achdus (unity). Dignitaries, among them politicians and clergymen, joined the community for a musical havdalah followed by a candle-lighting ceremony. “It was really a fantastic Shabbat,” said Rabbi Feldman, “and the ruach [spirit] was just amazing.”

Manchester Jewish students enjoyed an evening of Chanukah lights, fried foods and casino-style ‘gambling’ on Sunday night, under the auspices of Hillel House Manchester and Aish. The students joined together for a traditional Chanukiah-lighting ceremony, latkes, salads and doughnuts and then tried their luck at poker, blackjack or spin the dreidel.

17

17 ELSTREE ZOOMS WITH ISRAEL

The Liberal Synagogue Elstree’s Chanukah celebrations were led by Rabbi Cantor Gershon Silins at a joint Zoom party and solidarity candle lighting with V’ahaveta Shoham Reform Synagogue in Israel.

18 ANYONE FOR CRICKET?

Chelmsford Jewish Community, which is working alongside Southend Reform Synagogue, was invited to hold an event at Essex County Cricket Ground. There were candles, food and cricket goodie bags for the children.

19 HEADING EAST 18

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East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue held a fourth night Chanukah lighting where the community’s children joined Rabbi Richard Jacobi to light the chanukiah.

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Inside A look

Football fever The tastes and sights of Girona

Café Culture

Sonia Simmenauer

When Etan Smallman heard of a woman who had opened a Jewish café in Hamburg, he knew her story was right up his strasse

Photo by Lennard Ruehle

W

hen the American-born, Parisraised Sonia Simmenauer relocated to Germany in 1982, her grandmother sent her a letter explaining why they would never speak again.

“I was a traitor,” says the concert agent from her home office in Berlin. “Most of the family of my grandmother and grandfather had died at the hands of the Nazis. Germany was solely the country of the devil. So she decided that she had had a granddaughter, but didn’t have her any more.”

Her grandmother kept her word for the remainder of her life, but for the rest of Simmenauer’s family, particularly her Hamburg-born father, “with time, it got easier”.

Walter – an amateur cellist – had left, aged 12, with his family in 1938, fleeing to France where they survived the war under false names.

He finally made his peace with his daughter’s relocation when she opened a Jewish café in Grindel, in the part of his home city historically known as Little Jerusalem. Its synagogue had been destroyed during the war, but its Jewish school, the Talmud-Tora-Schule – attended by her father after he had been forced to leave his state school – had survived. It was reopened in 2007 and Simmenauer decided: “If there is a

Kugelhopf cake (pictured) was served, as was chicken soup

school, there is a future. But if there is a school, there needs to be a café.”

When she heard – on erev Pesach – that the proprietor of the old printer’s shop was calling it a day, she told him of her dream. Though he was not Jewish, his response sealed the deal.

“The light in his eyes – there was something so adamantly enthusiastic about the idea that I knew I had to do it.”

Café Leonar opened in 2008, serving lashings of chicken soup and borscht, along with the cakes of the grandmothers of each of the staff.

Simmenauer took charge of the käsekuchen (cheesecake) and mohnrolle (poppy seed roll).

Diners also tucked in to kugelhopf (yeast cake) and schokomohnkuchen (chocolate seed cake).

The name, once she alighted on it, seemed too obvious for words. But it took the old printer to suggest it when he presented her with a brown envelope full of old factory brochures. It was that of Leonar, the photo paper company established by her grandfather in Hamburg, combining the names of its two founders, Loewenthal and Arndt. By complete

Simmenauer opened the café, without security, in 2008, and later passed it on to her son

serendipity, her son’s names are Leonard and Arnold.

Café Leonar became the home of a salon featuring readings from Jewish authors, Torah discussions and sessions on psychoanalysis and, for a time, even housed a shop selling books and Judaica.

But Simmenauer slowly began to feel burdened by the weight of “beautiful stories” and “all their trauma” that was being put on her shoulders, by the descendants of both Jews and Nazis.

“From the moment it opened, we had a flow of people coming with bags, either metaphorical or real, with things they had found in their homes that remained from the Jews who had been living there. They wanted us to take this all and put it in the café and I didn’t want that because you couldn’t stop.

“This was all so emotional that I couldn’t take it any more. From one side and the other, they were coming and having a cup of coffee and giving me a story. They left, liberated, but now I had it [the story]. So at a certain point, I said the pot is full.”

I tell Simmenauer why this tale is so up my strasse. In 1939, my grandfather fled from Berlin – where he had managed the Café Uhlandeck – to London. There he found his haven, serving refugees from Nazi Europe in the cafés of Finchley Road, or Finchleystrasse as it became known due to its large number of German-speaking newcomers.

There is another connection: Café Balsam, which he established in the 1940s, was the favourite restaurant of the Amadeus Quartet

and where they rehearsed before becoming world famous.

“We are all following the line of history,” says Simmenauer, who, apart from being a salonnière, has devoted her life to string quartets, founding her own specialist agency, Impresariat Simmenauer. We are talking via Zoom, but I picture us chatting over a slice of Jüdischer apfelkuchen and a steaming black coffee, to the strains of two violins, a viola and a cello.

After two years, she passed Leonar on to her son, Arnold, and it is still a heimishe destination in Hamburg, though now run not by Jews but by Persians. She has also since passed control of her agency to Arnold. His passion for the profession, she says, is “the greatest gift a parent can imagine”.

When she opened Leonar, the police suggested having an officer at the door. “I said if we have a policeman in front of the café, we will have only Jews coming in. And if we don’t, it’s open for everybody and then we risk nothing.”

But, she adds mournfully: “Today is different. Today, after all that happened in Israel [on 7 October], Jewish places are in danger. A lot of Jews have been attacked either physically or their houses or by mail. It’s a horrible time.

“I would not open a Jewish café today. I still run a Jewish salon in Berlin, but we have now police and security.”

Simmenauer says she is grateful she was able to establish Leonar when she did. “It was a fantastic time. And it was a time when this all needed to come out, just before it disappeared.”

40 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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JN LIFE

Let’s hear it for the boys Neil Silver meets two Jewish entrepreneurs – one aged 18 and the other just 11 – who are using their love of football to break into the world of business

L

ike many young boys, Adam Legerman grew up dreaming of becoming a professional footballer. He was making good strides playing in Toronto, Canada, and he took part in the Maccabiah Games in Detroit in 2019.

Sadly, his dreams were shattered by a sudden knee injury, but Adam was determined to make a life for himself in football.

He explains: “From the very first time I kicked a ball, I knew that the football field was where I belonged. My dreams were filled with images of representing top clubs on the global stage. Football was more than just a sport to me, it was a way of life, Adam in business mode ... and I was not prepared to quent suspension of football activiturn my back on it. ties in the country have hindered “In the face of adversity, I his networking efforts. refused to let my passion for footHowever, he says: “Israeli ball wane. I realised that my love for football is on a steady rise, gaining the sport extended beyond playing momentum each day. I strongly on the field and my determination believe Jewish players, now more to explore the business side of footthan ever, will feel a heightened ball led me to my true calling. sense of pride in representing Israel “I started watching games and and joining Israeli clubs.” realised there were so many talents Adam isn’t just focusing on of a similar age who dreamt of becoming professionals, and I knew improving athletic skills; he’s also creating a platform for personal I had to find a way of helping them growth and cultural enrichment. to advance their careers and fulfil By helping Jewish players navigate their dreams.”

Adam founded FootballEscalate, the intricacies of playing in Israel, he strives to give them an avenue and sent hundreds of emails to to connect with their heritage in a football clubs, agents and scouts, tangible and impactful way. developing a portfolio of connecHe says he is determined to tions and starting to introduce provide opportunities for fellow clubs to new players.

Jewish players to thrive in the sport “My family grew up in Israel they love on the very soil that holds and I had lived there and was able deep meaning for them. to send Jewish players for trials at Adam says his venture enables clubs such as Maccabi Netanya and him to give back to his community Maccabi Haifa. I help players see and honour his family’s journey, Israel is a beautiful country and while forging meaningful connechow amazing Israeli football is.” tions, celebrating cultural roots, He had intended to travel to Israel in October to meet with clubs and nurturing a sense of belonging beyond borders and fields. and agents but the war and subse-

Canada-based Adam’s portfolio of players continues to grow. He has more than 30 he works with, and he continues to dream big.

“I am too young to be considered an agent, so I promote players by creating videos for them and reaching out to clubs throughout Europe,” he says.

“My dream is to create the biggest football agency in world, and I am studying sports management so I can learn all about the business side of the game.

It has been a struggle to be taken seriously because I am only 18, but that only makes me more determined. People see my passion and then they support me. Things are going well, I am getting noticed and gaining more players.”

Adam plans to organise a major Jewish event for soccer players in Canada and the USA next year with scouts from Israel and other countries coming to help players boost their careers: “It’s about creating a safe hub where Jewish players, coaches, and enthusiasts can gather, feel supported and enjoy playing the game they’re passionate about,” he says.

Another young Jewish boy who is proving age is no barrier is Eitan Black, 11, from Hendon. Eitan, who goes to Hasmonean Boys’ School, was trying to find something interesting to do during a half-term break. His mum, Shari, writes and edits books and suggested as he liked football so much he should write one.

Eitan, a member of Hendon United Synagogue, jumped at the idea and with the help of his mum created and self-published The Ultimate Football Quiz & Trivia Book, using Amazon’s print-on-

... and on the pitch as a junior player and before his knee injury

demand publishing service. He researched all the questions for the book himself, while Shari helped with the design, and although it was a lot of work it didn’t cost them anything to use the platform.

Eitan decided he wanted

Eitan Black

the book to include questions and activities that wouldn’t go out of date, so most of them don’t focus on specific players or stats.

Instead, the book challenges readers to do tasks such as naming one player from each team in the Premier League, or to list ten teams that wear a red kit.

“I’m really proud, and hopefully people will like it when they buy it,” said Eitan. “It was really fun working on the book. It wasn’t too easy but it was a good challenge.

“My friends and family are all really proud that it’s been published and have bought copies.

Maybe I’ll write another book – not necessarily about football, but about other things!”

There are also quizzes about club crests, stadiums and international tournaments in the book, which has a cover price of only £4.99. Every time a copy of the book is sold, Eitan makes a small amount of profit, which he hopes will build up over time.

Now he has even inspired his younger brothers, Joshy, Jacob and Ilan, to start writing their own books. They plan to follow his lead and write about football.

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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JN LIFE

The Spanish city has no Jewish community but it does have a well-preserved Jewish quarter.

Sudi Pigott went to explore Girona’s picturesque Old Town

A bedroom at the stylish Mas de Torrent

V

isiting before the terrorist attacks in Israel, it still struck me as poignant that the guide at the Jewish Museum, on what was the site of Girona’s synagogue in the community’s heyday from the ninth to the 15th centuries, told me that there is no Jewish community in the city today.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, about whom we all learnt in school, much heralded for uniting the Spanish kingdoms and, as philanthropists, supporting the great explorers (probably with money lent by the Jews, according to fascinating records in the museum – there were several early 14th-century female moneylenders), decided to banish Girona’s Jews by edict. Those who could, left for Morocco and later dispersed in Spanish-speaking South America.

There’s much of interest at the museum, including stories of prominent-named female Jewish doctors and a vast, beautiful map of Europe as it was conceived in the 14th century, including just-discovered America. Yet, knowing seven centuries on that Jews are still facing persecution, might make exploring the Jewish area, El Call, uncomfortable now.

I would still highly recommend a visit to alluringly chic and compact Girona with the proviso of staying at least two nights in the hushed luxury of Mas de Torrent, less than an hour away. It’s a Relais & Chateau property that’s been on my radar for 20 years or so and surpassed my highest expectations. It has even lured pop royalty including Kylie, Shakira and Streisand.

The main hotel is in an original stone building built in 1756 as a private home for a wealthy farmer. There are elegant yet cosy living rooms with slouchy cream sofas, original beams and wood panelling. There is lots of good artwork as the hotel’s owner is a serious collector, including works by José Maria Sert y Badia, an allegorical muralist and friend of Salvador Dalí, whose work fetched £20,000plus at a recent Christie’s auction.

There’s a glamorous bar and airy dining room with a spacious terrace affording plenty of privacy and views across the Empordá countryside towards medieval hilltop villages.

Dinner is traditional Catalan, and local seasonal ingredients are given an elevated sophistication by Michelin-starred chef

Ramon Freixa: cloud-like, creamy croquetas, the famed anchovies of L’Escala with mint mojo, sublime grilled turbot and duck dishes and a most impressive cheeseboard. Breakfast is by the secluded pool among bougainvilleafilled gardens sheltered by cypress trees.

There’s a world-renowned spa with its own indoor pool and hydrotherapy suites, the latest in gym tech and much more. Yet, even leaving our room, a very private haven of indulgent tranquillity with a generous-sized living room and bathroom, was hardly tempting, especially as it had its own secluded five-metre pool.

Talking of bathing, the most fascinating and positive element of visiting Girona’s Jewish quarter, which is considered among the best preserved in Europe, was seeing the relatively recent excavation work. This has enabled archaeologists to work out the likely layout of the synagogue, which incorporated not only a large square mikveh, but a butcher’s shop and a school for boys and, separately, girls. Wandering the labyrinthine streets later, it was touching to come across a classical guitarist playing plaintive tunes in one of the

Girona Jewish Museum

Xuixo, Girona’s trademark pastry

small sloping alleyways with steep porches where you can still make out where mezuzot were once placed.

Girona’s medieval Old Town is charming overall with a real sense of walking in history.

There’s a circular path along the medieval walls, and the dramatic cathedral, built between the 11th and 16th centuries, with its long wide staircase in front of the main portal, now so inextricably associated with Game of Thrones, has to be visited.

Beautiful too are the brightly painted houses along the River Onyar.

Huge swathes of cyclists pedal respectfully slowly along the cobbled streets as a number of professional teams base themselves in Girona and train in the surrounding mountains.

This has attracted plenty of cycle tourism, even dedicated cafés. Most outstanding, even for non-cyclists, is La Fábrica, with its thick stone walls and inglenooks with cycling memorabilia and sepia race photos and a beautiful vintage road bike backlit behind the chrome coffee machine.

Eating well is totally assured in Girona with a superb choice of independent restaurants and cafés. Be sure to try xuixo (pronounced ‘choocho’), a cylindrical pastry that is filled

with crema catalana flavoured with citrus and cinnamon and fried. Botiga de Xuixos on Castello Carrer dels Calderers has been making this pastry – found only in Girona – for well over a century.

Find excellent tapas and a huge choice of wines at Plaça del Vi 7 under the brick arcade arches in Wine Merchant Square. My favourite café is within the charming and surprising courtyard of the elegantly transformed new Palau Fugit hotel, once a palace, with weathered stone facades and vibrant colours.

Normal restaurant is anything but average, more a bistro de luxe. It is owned by the legendary Roca brothers of three Michelin star fame, former number one in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants with El Cellar con Roca, who have accomplished something of a Rick Stein Padstow-style takeover in Girona.

Be sure to visit the Roca’s gelateria, Rocambolesc, with its sophisticated flavours and toppings. I chose pomegranate and bergamot ice-cream topped with caramelised apple and walnut cake.

Casa en Cacao is a boutique hotel decorated in delicious brown hues whose roof terrace restaurant, La Terrassa, has exceptional views of the medieval Old Town. The restaurant serves an exceptional brunch of multiple thrilling savoury and chocolate courses.

From the terrace, diners can look out over the medieval city of culture and gastronomy: lifeenhancing, even in such difficult times.  Sudi Pigott was a guest of masdetorrent.com and relaisand chateau.com. Girona Jewish Museum can be found via girona.cat

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Ask our

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Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

AS COMFORTING AS A BOWL OF CHICKEN SOUP KKL, JNF UK’s legacy department, has been serving the Jewish community for over 70 years. Our highly qualified team combines first-rate executorship and trustee services with personalised pastoral care. We can support you in the way that close family would, keeping in regular contact with you and taking care of any Jewish needs (such as saying kaddish for you) in accordance with your wishes.

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

This week: New business accounting options, making a will and employing staff for flexible working hours...

ADAM SHELLEY ACCOUNTANT

SOBELL RHODES

Dear Adam I’m setting up a new business and have been advised to find the best option for accounting software. What should I consider?

Olivia Dear Olivia In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, having the right tools and systems in place is crucial for success.

However, one tool that sometimes gets overlooked is accounting software, which can help you manage your finances more effectively, save time and reduce the risk of costly errors.

There are two main types: desktop and

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN DIRECTOR OF LAGACIES

JEWISH BLIND AND Dear Carolyn We have recently bought our first house and are expecting our second child. My husband has suggested that we write a will.

I thought our assets would pass to each other if anything were to happen to either of us and then to our children. Is this the case?

Lily

Dear Lily Making a will is one of the most important things to protect your family and hard-earned assets. If you don’t make a will, the Statutory Intestacy Rules will govern where your assets end up and who is appointed executor and guardian of your children under 18. The rules date back to 1925 but have changed very little since that time.

The order set by the rules states the first £270,000 of a married couple’s estate passes outright to the surviving spouse together with all personal possessions, including the value of any property owned.

cloud software. With desktop software, your accounting software and financial data reside on your desktop or laptop computer after manually installing it. Cloud accounting software is stored online. For instance, as your data is stored online, you can view it in real-time from anywhere, on any device with an internet connection, making it easier to remain productive on the move. It also makes recording expenses and income easier, as you can integrate your software with other apps, such as ones that allow you to collect and store expense records. You can begin by identifying your primary needs and objectives such as do you need inventory management, integration with other software applications or travel a lot and therefore require an online solution?

As your business grows, so will your accounting needs. So it’s crucial you choose software that can scale with your business.

Remaining assets are divided – 50 percent absolutely to the surviving spouse and 50 percent on trust for any children of the deceased until they reach 18. This can affect the deceased’s inheritance tax liability as the share that exceeds the nil rate band (£325,000) and which passes to the children will be liable to IHT at 40 percent.

By not making a will you lose the chance to do estate planning, save inheritance tax by using exemptions and reliefs and perhaps leave something to charity.

It’s not morbid – more of an insurance to protect loved ones.

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What is the best way to achieve this?

Rob Dear Rob Thanks for such a great question. This is something which many

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

Call 020 8732 6101 or email enquiries@kkl.org.uk

KKL Executor and Trustee Company Ltd (a Company registered in England No. 453042) is a subsidiary of JNF Charitable Trust (Charity No. 225910) and a registered Trust Corporation (authorised capital £250,000).

Registered Charity No. 259480

Leave the legacy of independence to people like Hayley.

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Visit www.jbd.org or call 020 8371 6611

employers struggle with.

First, you must make sure you have staff employed on the right contract. This may be permanent, temporary or fixed term.

Once you have decided that, you need to look at the hours: full time or part time?

Then fixed, flexible, monthly, annual or zero hours.

If they are on your payroll they are entitled to holiday pay and other benefits such as sick pay.

At the moment, all staff accumulate annual leave of at least 5.6 weeks per year.

This is pro rated for anyone not working full time, but is still 5.6 weeks even for zero hours employees on

a permanent contract.

This is changing in April 2024 when the original percentage method is being reintroduced, as is rolled up holiday pay.

At the moment, if you need zero hours staff, use as few as possible or consider agency staff.

Permanent annualised hours employees may give you the most flexibility at the moment, but administering their hours, pay and holiday can be complicated, so you must take care to get it right.

One client recently asked if their staff could be selfemployed. This is likely to be illegal. Again, I would suggest agency for this flexibility, but it does come at a cost.

46 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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Ask our experts / Professional advice from our panel

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST

TREVOR GEE Qualifications: • Managing director, consultant specialists in affordable family health insurance • Advising on maximising cover, lower premiums, pre-existing conditions • Excellent knowledge of health insurers, cover levels and hospital lists • LLB solicitors finals • Member of Chartered Insurance Institute

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DR MONICA QUADIR Qualifications: • Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than 12 years of experience in treating young people and their families, both in the NHS and privately • Expertise in assessing neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD and autism, and supporting families to manage these conditions • Medical director at Psymplicity Healthcare, a private mental health clinic based in London, with a national online presence

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

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• Mediator, business coach, trainer, author and speaker • Supporting businesses and charities with the hiring, managing, inspiring and firing of their staff

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JOE OZER Qualifications: • Executive director for the United Kingdom at DCI (Intl) Ltd • Worked in finance for more than 20 years • Specialists in distribution and promotion of Israel Bonds

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

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

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOR ISRAEL 020 3936 2712 www.israelbondsintl.com joe.ozer@israelbondsintl.com

JEWELLER

ACCOUNTANT

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ADAM SHELLEY Qualifications: • FCCA chartered certified accountant • Accounting, taxation and business advisory services • Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses • Specialises in charities; personal tax returns • Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award

JONATHAN WILLIAMS Qualifications: • Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s • Expert in the manufacture and supply of diamond jewellery, wedding rings and general jewellery • Specialist in supply of diamonds to the public at trade prices

DR BEN LEVY Qualifications: • Doctor of psychology with 15 years’ experience in education and corporate sectors • Uses robust, evidence-based methods to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be • Works with clients individually to maximise success

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

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

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

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

LISA WIMBORNE Qualifications: Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including: • The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on-site support • Knowledge of the innovations that empower people and the benefits available • Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN Qualifications: Lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in will drafting and trust and estate administration. Last 14 years at KKL Executor and Trustee Company In close contact with clients to ensure all legal and pastoral needs are cared for Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

SUE CIPIN OBE Qualifications: • 24 years+ hands-on experience, leading JDA in significant growth and development.

• Understanding of the impact of deafness on people, including children, at all stages • Extensive services for people affected by hearing loss/tinnitus • Technology room with expert advice on and facilities to try out the latest equipment.

• Hearing aid advice, support and maintenance

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

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

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

CAREER ADVISER

• • •

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL

LESLEY TRENNER Qualifications: • Provides free professional one-to-one advice at Resource to help unemployed into work • Offers mock interviews and workshops to maximise job prospects • Expert in corporate management holding director level marketing, commercial and general management roles

STEPHEN MORRIS Qualifications: • Managing director of Stephen Morris Shipping Ltd • 45 years’ experience in shipping household and personal effects • Chosen mover for four royal families and three UK prime ministers • Offering proven quality specialist advice for moving anyone across the world or round the corner

LOUISE LEACH Qualifications: • Professional choreographer qualified in dance, drama and Zumba (ZIN, ISTD & LAMDA), gaining an honours degree at Birmingham University • Former contestant on ITV’s Popstars, reaching bootcamp with Myleene Klass, Suzanne Shaw and Kym Marsh • Set up Dancing with Louise 19 years ago

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

DANCING WITH LOUISE 075 0621 7833 www.dancingwithlouise.co.uk Info@dancingwithlouise.com

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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47

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 RABBI ALEX CHAPPER

BOREHAMWOOD & ELSTREE SYNAGOGUE

Choices we make can have lasting impact on ourselves and on others The young men and women of the IDF who are fighting so bravely to protect the people of Israel and secure the release of all the hostages might think they are just doing the thing for which they have been trained.

However, they may be underestimating the incredible significance of their actions for the future of the State of Israel and Jews worldwide.

Many centuries earlier, the protagonists in this week’s parsha, Miketz, were also unaware of it at the time, and yet the Torah attests to the enduring impact of the choices they made that shaped events in their lives.

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch,

the 19th-century leader of German Jewry, notes Joseph’s brothers travelling to Egypt to buy grain was a moment of great historic importance.

For the first time, they are introduced as the Children of Israel and, even though they were unaware of the consequences their journey would have for future generations, the reality is that the entire future of the Jewish people rested on it.

In fact, the whole course of Jewish history might have been completely different if they had not travelled there: Joseph might never have revealed himself to them, they might not have settled there and become enslaved, or

then been redeemed by God and ultimately received the Torah.

Just one chapter later, Jacob experiences his own personal epiphany. Rav Hirsch explains that since the loss of Joseph, the narrative has referred to him as Jacob as it signifies that depressed state of mind in which a person feels that they are dependent, failing and limping or lagging behind the realities of life.

He feels incapable of coping and therefore just allows himself be dragged along by them. Only when Jacob finally accedes to his sons’ requests to send Benjamin with them to Egypt is he quoted using the name Israel.

While Jacob is in a state of doubt and felt that he could not send Benjamin, he is presented as Jacob.

But once he sees clearly that the peril

Like those of IDF soldiers, the actions of Joseph’s brothers are significant

to Benjamin’s life will be no greater if he stays at home, Jacob conquers his emotions and becomes Israel.

Joseph’s brothers are called the Children of Israel and Jacob is called Israel because these names particularly symbolise their part in shaping not only their own destiny, but that of future generations.

Similarly in our own lives, we may consider the choices we make and the actions we take as having limited implications, affecting only ourselves and those close to us.

In reality, we never truly know

the full ramifications of the course we follow, as the outcome may not be apparent in the present but become visible only at some indeterminate time in the future.

As someone once said: “Be careful of your actions. You never know when you are creating a memory.”

More importantly, never underestimate the significance of your actions. While we do not know what the future holds, we continue to hope and pray that God gives strength to His people and blesses them with peace.

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.

48 Jewish News 14 December 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 TANYA SAKHNOVICH

EDGWARE AND HENDON REFORM SYNAGOGUE

EcoShabbat reminds us of our responsibility to our planet Members of EcoJudaism from more than 65 Jewish communities in the UK – and across five different denominations – chose to celebrate EcoShabbat with a diverse range of environmental activities to highlight different aspects of sustainable and environment-friendly living.

Many celebrations included veggie or plant-based meals… they were Jewish events after all!

We all love food but at times take it for granted. Possibly, more of us would be attracted to an article talking about a new diet than to an article describing the laborious and lengthy process of producing that food, from growing the crops to delivering it on a plate.

The chain of food production requires the efforts of so many people and our own time and money. One of the themes for this year’s EcoShabbat was reducing food waste in our community and households.

When, some years ago, I delivered my first sermon on food waste in the UK, there were an estimated 14 million tons of it each year. Over time, it has been reduced to an estimated 9.5 million tons – of which 6.6 million comes from households. On average, a family wastes more than £700 worth of food every year.

But food waste, as costly as it might be for some of us, is not as bad as plastic waste. Larger plastic items take up to 1,000 years to decompose.

Around the world, our soil quality

is diminishing every year. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, 90 percent of the Earth’s topsoil will be at risk by 2050.

It is bad news for us because those few centimetres of topsoil grow 95 percent of our food. It also takes about 1,000 years to restore just a few centimetres of it. That’s what happens if you don’t obey the Torah laws commanding us to observe the Shmita year – the year of rest for the land every seventh year.

As a result of poorer soil, the quality of our food deteriorates.

When there are fewer nutrients in the soil, there will be fewer nutrients in our food. However, a contributing factor might be the focus on choosing crops for higher yield as opposed to for their nutritional value.

One of the ways to restore the soil balance is to plant trees, which is what we are planning to do on Tu B’Shvat at the end of January, with

Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue’s EcoTeam

our nursery children at Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue.

We only have one home that we all share: our beautiful planet Earth. It is our shared responsibility to look after it. As the philosopher Erich Fromm said: “The goal of man is to live again in peace and harmony with his fellow men, with animals, with the soil…”

At the moment, living in harmony

with animals and the soil seems like the more attainable goal.

If your community would like some ideas on how to start your eco-journey towards harmony and eco-balance – or join the growing list of eco-communities – please visit ecojudaism.org.uk • Rabbi Tanya Sakhnovich is a member of EcoJudaism Rabbinic Advisory Group

WHEN THEY NEED US MOST

We are there

Otto has Alagille Syndrome, a rare condition primarily affecting his heart and liver. Camp Simcha has been there for his family since shortly after his diagnosis, supporting them when they need us most.

Each year Camp Simcha helps more than 1,500 family members throughout the UK just like Otto’s, coping with over 50 serious and chronic childhood medical conditions.

Your support this Rosh Hashanah will help ensure we can continue to be there - when families need us most.

Donate online at campsimcha.org.uk/rh23 or scan the QR code Camp Simcha, Amélie House, 221 Golders Green Road, London, NW11 9DQ

@CampSimchaUK

London: 020 8202 9297 • Manchester: 0161 341 0589 • office@campsimcha.org.uk • campsimcha.org.uk Charity Registered No. 1180646. A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No. 11478657 Registered Address: Amélie House, 221 Golders Green Road, London NW11 9DQ

“Our Camp Simcha Family Liaison Officer, Daniella, came into our lives and has been a constant ever since… she always knows exactly what we need.”

Lee, dad to Otto who has Alagille Syndrome

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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49

Antiques Buyers

Wanted all Antiques & furniture including Lounge Dining and Bedroom Suites. Chests of drawers.

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We also buy Diamonds & Jewellery. Gold. Silverware.

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All Antiques considered. Full house clearances organised. Very high prices paid, free home visits.

Check our website for more details www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk Email: info@antiquesbuyers.co.uk Please call Sue Davis on Freephone: 08008402035 WhatsApp Mobile: 07956268290 Portobello Rd London. By appointments only.

Please note rather than acting as agents for other organisations and charging you commission. Please be assured that in dealing with Antiques Buyers we deal directly with our clients and pay in full at the time of the transaction.

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50 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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Business Services Directory ANTIQUES

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HOUSE FOR SALE

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Support Groups available. We offer in person, online and telephone counselling.

Contact Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence.

0208 951 3881 enquiries@jbcs.org.uk | www.jbcs.org.uk

COMPUTER

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FOR SALE: Holly Park Gardens, N3 Spacious 1,938 Sq. Ft

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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

BRIDGE

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STONEMASON

HOUSE SALE 4 Bed House for sale, Hendon, NW4 £1,100,000 Contact Clive 07970510656 Private sale LAW MENTOR

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LAW MENTOR Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with: • • • •

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Leave the legacy of independence to people like Joel.

PLease remember us in your wiLL.

eNABLeD visit www.Jbd.org or caLL 020 8371 6611

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51

14 December 2023 Jewish News

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Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

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ACROSS 1 Reckoning (11) 9 Rebirth (13) 10 Evenly weighted (8)

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

WORDSEARCH

CODEWORD

The listed words to do with diamonds can all be found in the grid.

Words may run either forwards or backwards, in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

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

E C A R B O N F Y F W C P O P U L A R

T Y

7

N T S X G C G L N S W

16

A R

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See next issue for puzzle solutions.

ROMANCE

CARBON

GLOBAL

SELECTION

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

CUSTOMERS

NATURAL

SUPPLIER

1

DAZZLE

POPULARITY

TRADE

EXPORT

PRISM

WEDDINGS

Last issue’s solutions Crossword ACROSS: 7 In lieu, 8 Arabia, 9 Firs, 10 TV dinner, 11 Loose cannon, 14 Brainwashes, 18 Boat Race, 19 Cook, 20 Breeze, 21 Insole.

DOWN: 1 Incisor, 2 Miss, 3 Rustic, 4 Maiden, 5 Rainbows, 6 Mites, 12 Strutted, 13 Recoils, 15 Images, 16 Weepie, 17 Worry, 19 Case.

14

Sudoku 1 7 6 5 9 4 2 8 3 3 4 5 6 2 9 8 1 7 9 3 1 7 5 8 4 6 2

2 4 5 8 7 3 1 9 6 7 2 9 5 1 8 6 3 4 4 5 7 3 6 2 9 8 1

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5 4 2 4 2 5 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 5 2 4 2 4 3 4 3 1 3 1 5 1 2 4 2 4 2 4 3 1 3 1

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DOWN 2 ___ Baba, Arabian Nights character (3) 3 East London natives (8) 4 Food cupboard (6) 5 Ensnare (4) 6 Bring into existence (9) 7 Thrashes, defeats (5) 8 Join up (5) 11 Oil (9) 13 Police patrol vehicle (5,3) 16 Bands (5) 17 Ancient public clerk (6) 18 Nation (5) 21 German word for ‘Mr’ (4) 23 ___ and downs, highs and lows (3)

13 14

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

12 Venus de ___, ancient statue (4) 14 Conforms (5) 15 Country, capital Doha (5) 19 Correct, check (a text) (4) 20 Crucial yardstick (4,4) 22 Wholesaler’s lower price (5,8) 24 Civilian courage award (6,5)

6

7

SUDOKU

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

Wordsearch 3 1 4 2 4 1 4 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 4 2 4 1 4 2 5 1 3 2 3 1 3 4 5 1 2 4 2 1 2 3

D T E N S I A U S T D

H H T Y R T R E N T V

K U C E G U C I O L O

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52 Jewish News 14 December 2023

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14 December 2023 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

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LOCAL COMMUNITIES RALLY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL As Magen David Adom UK launched its ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ Emergency Campaign, donors from across the country were unequivocal in their support and generosity. Funds were raised to help MDA replenish the life-saving medical stocks and equipment that are in constant and ongoing demand.

This strong sense of unity and giving was shown through a vast array of fundraising activities: from hosting fitness classes and selling products, to running marathons and holding bake sales.

Magen David Adom could not be more grateful to those who contributed to this lifesaving cause.

Thank you. You are all lifesavers!

Rafi Noah, Guy Kaufer and their dads climbed Mount Snowden in aid of MDA for their Bar Mitzvah project

Instead of birthday presents, Benji and Rafi asked for donations to MDA UK!

Natalie Deller ran the NiceCannes Marathon in memory of Joshua Carr and in aid of MDA

Immanuel College pupils took part in a live painting experience by @deborahabramart to show unity and support for MDA and Israel

TABLE75: FROM TEL AVIV TO LONDON Photo Credit: Talia Gottschalk @1000 words photography

Chefs Guy Israeli and Avishay Siag brought a taste of Tel Aviv to London!

In September, Magen David Adom UK hosted Table75, a series of three campaign dinners to mark Israel’s 75th birthday and raise much-needed funds for the country’s only national medical emergency and blood service.

The mouthwatering Israeli cuisine and drinks were prepared and presented by the charismatic chef Avishay Siag. Avishay introduced each of his shuk-inspired

courses, followed by a carefully curated pairing with an award-winning whisky by M&H, Israel’s first whisky distillery.

Guests were given a briefing from MDA Israel’s Ilan Klein and entertained by guest DJ, Miles Schechter.

Across the three nights, £300,000 was raised to support the Magen David Adom teams in Israel.

MDA supporters with medic Dror Wayne

OPERATION SWORDS OF IRON | DONATE NOW AT MDAUK.ORG/REDSHIELD23 6946 MDA Red Shield Winter 2023 JN Wrap v1.indd 3

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www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 14 December 2023

LABOUR FRIENDS OF ISRAEL BRING MDA INSIGHTS BACK TO THE UK

Magen David Adom hosted a delegation from Labour Friends of Israel at its Bloomberg station in Jerusalem in July. The group visited the ambulance simulation suite, blood donation facility and dispatch centre.

LFI Delegation at the MDA Bloomberg Station

OUR DONOR DEDICATIONS

The Gundle Family Philanthropic Trust First Responder Cars

Whilst speaking with MDA UK Chief Executive Daniel Burger, Steve McCabe MP, the chair of Labour Friends of Israel said: “I think the group participants are overwhelmed by the dedication here, the amazing use of technology, the incredible response times when we compare it to back in the UK and this is a wonderful organisation that knows how to put people and patients first”.

2023 saw numerous donor dedications in Israel. MDA looks forward to welcoming back its donors in the near future.

Jointly donated by the Carson, Berg and Sniderman families and MDA Sheffi eld

Cecil Rosen Foundation Gan Yavneh Station

Daisy Elias z”l Human Milk Bank Preparation Laboratory at the Marcus National Blood Services Centre

Armoured Vehicle dedicated to the Roumani family of Benghazi Libya by MDA UK Vice President Judy Saphra

MDA BLOOD BANK - A LIFELINE Since October 7th, Magen David Adom ramped up its critical and life-saving blood services, promoting special blood drives across Israel. All MDA’s bloodmobiles, including those donated by UK supporters, have been working to capacity as thousands of Israelis queue to donate blood.

The willingness and participation of Israelis of different races, religions and nationalities was astonishing. MDA’s Blood Service announced that it had collected and processed over 60,000 units of blood within the first weeks of the conflict, satisfying all the immediate needs.

@mda_uk @MDAUK_

Scan to donate

@Magen David Adom UK

Hundreds of Israelis line up to donate blood at the MDA UK donated bloodmobiles. October 2023

The newly built Marcus National Blood Services Center in Ramla, was handling up to 4,000 units of blood a day. The blood components were then distributed to all the hospitals and IDF Medical Corps in Israel to treat the thousands of medical casualties. The 48,000 square-metre facility is the world’s most secure blood bank and can withstand a direct ballistic missile attack, biological and chemical weapons, earthquakes, and cyber-terrorism. A partnership between the American Friends of MDA and the Government of Israel, supported by MDA UK, funded this state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2022.

OPERATION SWORDS OF IRON | DONATE NOW AT MDAUK.ORG/REDSHIELD23 6946 MDA Red Shield Winter 2023 JN Wrap v1.indd 4

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