1485 - 20 August 2026

Woven in war

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Parkinson’s genetic clue 20 August 2026 • 7 Ellul 5786 • Issue No.1485 •

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@JewishNewsUK

DNA link found in one in four Ashkenazi patients paves the way for new treatments A quarter of Ashkenazi Jews with Parkinson’s disease carry a genetic variant linked to the condition, a groundbreaking study has found, writes Annabel Sinclair. The research discovered that 26.5 percent of Ashkenazi Parkinson’s patients studied carried either a mutation capable of causing the disease or a variant associated with an increased risk of developing it. The findings could have important implications for genetic testing and future treatment, with two of the main genes involved already the focus of experimental therapies. Published in The Lancet Neurology, the research examined genetic data from almost 100,000 people across 11 ancestral groups in the largest multi-

ancestry study of Parkinson’s genetics conducted to date. Among Ashkenazi Jewish patients, 10.7 per cent carried a causal genetic variant – the highest rate found in any ancestral group in the study. The figure was driven almost entirely by a variant in the LRRK2 gene, which is known to be relatively common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Carrying the variant does not, however, mean someone will necessarily develop Parkinson’s. Some people with it never develop the disease, a phenomenon known as “reduced penetrance”. When the study authors also included high-risk variants, primarily involving the GBA1 gene, the proportion of Ashkenazi Jewish Parkinson’s patients carrying an influential genetic risk factor rose to 26.5 percent. Dr Lara M. Lange, the study’s first author, told Jewish News: “Our findings show that genetics play a remarkably strong role in Parkinson’s Jewish community. More than one in four Ashkenazi Jewish Parkinson’s patients in our study carry a genetic variant linked to the disease. Continued on page 6 One in four Ashkenazis carry gene

NOW THE JOKE’S ON THEM Edinburgh venue Banshee Labyrinth has accepted in court that it discriminated against Jewish comedian Philip Simon when it cancelled his solo show, Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way, last year due to his views on Israel. See full story, page 6

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Jewish News 20 August 2026

News / Diplomacy / Unite leadership / MPJ

Blair meets Hamas leaders in bid to revive peace plan Downing Street has said the UK government would “welcome” any effort to secure peace in Gaza, after it emerged Tony Blair was involved with meetings with Hamas leaders in Egypt, aimed at rescuing the stalled plan to end the conflict in the region, writes Lee Harpin. The former prime minister and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with Nikolay Meladenov, a representative of the Board of Peace, held talks on Sunday to push the terror group to give up its weaponry. On Monday, Blair and Kushner met with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in Jerusalem to report back on the talks and the attempt to rescue the Gaza peace plan. Later, in a statement following the discussions, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated: “The Prime Minister and Board of Peace had deep and constructive discussions. “It was agreed to establish two working groups, one on disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza. “A second working group will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues for the people of Gaza and which also impact the people of Israel.”

PM Andy Burnham says that Tony Blair is acting of his own accord

The talks with Hamas leaders have prompted strong criticism from many leaders in Israel, but others say they are a sign of growing frustration with the Netanyahu government’s rejection of moves to revive a peace deal. Asked for the UK’s response, Andy Burnham’s spokesperson stressed that Blair operated of his own accord, but added that “more broadly any efforts to secure peace in Gaza are welcome”, underlining the government’s support for renewed diplomatic engagement. The No 10 aide said the UK was “continuing to work with all our partners to end conflict there and the terror threat from Hamas”.

In Monday’s briefing with Westminster journalists, the Downing Street spokesperson also refused to rule out the possibility of new sanctions by the UK against Israel over settler violence and settlement expansion, signalling that more measures could be imposed if the situation does not improve. The violence in the West Bank was “completely unacceptable”, said the No 10 aide, who pointed to the government’s track record of introducing sanctions, including against far-right Israeli ministers. They confirmed the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office were “working” on new measures, but refused to discuss

Pro-Palestine campaigner is defeated in Unite leadership A prominent pro-Palestine campaigner has been decisively beaten in the race to become general secretary of the Unite trade union, with incumbent Sharon Graham comfortably securing re-election despite a very low turnout. Simon Dubbins, a senior figure in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Unite’s former international director, stood as the far-left candidate backed by the SWP and other left-wing factions. He received 31,130 votes, less than half of Graham’s 68,694. The turnout was 10, raising concerns about member engagement in one of the country’s largest trade unions. Dubbins and Graham have clashed repeatedly in recent years, notably over the union’s stance on the UK defence industry and dealings with Israel. While Graham has prioritised protecting British defence jobs and

Simon Dubbins lost to incumbent

condemned groups such as Palestine Action for targeting arms factories employing Unite members, Dubbins advocated for transitioning workers away from manufacturing military equipment for conflict zones and into “sociallyuseful production”. The two also publicly disagreed when Graham cancelled a Unite Palestine fringe event at the Labour Party conference two years ago.

Despite her own hard-left roots, Graham has taken a strong stance against antisemitism within Unite since becoming leader five years ago. Graham said: “It’s an honour to be re-elected by Unite members to serve as their general secretary. This decisive victory is a powerful mandate to continue change. The trust that members have placed in me will be fully repaid as we step up our focus on delivering for workers. “My second period of office will continue to be marked by a relentless focus on the jobs, pay and conditions of workers. It will always be members over ministers and the workplace over Westminster. “Workers face many challenges in a changing world—from AI to decarbonisation and rising global tensions. Unite will be at the forefront of a stronger collective rooted in the working class.”

when these might be implemented, including a possible settlement trade ban. Jewish News previously reported the Prime Minister’s initial view to introduce sanctions against Israel when parliament returns from recess next month. Sources said there was a “small window of opportunity” to act against the Netanyahu government ahead of the Israeli elections in October. But some diplomats have urged a delay in sanctions, fearing Netanyahu would seek to make capital out of any new targeting by the UK ahead of the crunch election on 27 October. The Gaza peace agreement, reached last year, brought about a ceasefire. Israel still controls much of the territory and refuses to withdraw until Hamas disarms. The differences between the two sides have prevented progress towards reconstruction envisaged under the agreement. Netanyahu publicly rejected a revised plan last week, a move in part influenced by political campaigning before Israel’s general election in October. It is understood Hamas sent officials, including its new chief, Khalil al-Hayya, to the talks in Cairo. The US has negotiated directly with the Islamist group before to free Israeli hostages.

Kushner’s last meeting with Hamas officials, in October 2025, resulted in the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of the remaining hostages held captive, dead and alive. Hamas said after Sunday’s meeting with Blair and Kushner that it had asked the Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to accept the Gaza peace plan and “end all violations, halt killings and incursions, [and] approve the roadmap for the second phase” of the US-brokered ceasefire plan. Kushner is understood to have told Hamas it needed to take tangible steps on disarmament if it wanted Israel to take steps of its own, a source told the news outlet. The US and Hamas delegations also discussed the decommissioning of Hamas weapons and terror infrastructure, IDF withdrawal, and reconstruction and humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza. The source later told the Jerusalem Post that “there can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure. And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel.” Israel refused a phased withdrawal from the Yellow Line based on any gradual disarmament that would see armed groups keep weapons inside Gaza.

BIBI ‘DOESN’T SPEAK FOR US’ The Movement for Progressive Judaism insisted Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not speak for British Jews” after he referred to Britain as an “Islamic republic” in an interview. Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy said Progressive Judaism is “appalled” by the remarks, made during an army podcast interview. They accused Netanyahu of divisive language at a time when antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and social

division are causing fear in the UK. They said: “The Movement for Progressive Judaism is appalled by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s description of the United Kingdom as the ‘Islamic Republic of Britain’. “Prime Minister Netanyahu does not speak for British Jews. His words do not represent us. “British Jews are not made safer by rhetoric which denigrates British Muslims or portrays an entire community as a threat.”

ISRAEL ‘SAVED MANY BRITS’ A former Mossad chief has claimed the Israeli intelligence agency “saved many, many lives on British soil” and that a director general of MI5 had thanked him personally for having “disrupted a huge quantity of terror activity inside the UK”. In an interview with The General and The Journalist, a podcast produced by The Times, Yossi Cohen, who served as Mossad’s chief from 2016-2021, appeared to criticise efforts from the British government

to distance itself from Israel. Prime Minister Andy Burnham publicly apologised for Labour’s actions in 2023: “I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.” Cohen said: “The state of Israel never initiated this war in Gaza. The terrorists did, Hamas and Islamic Jihad did.”

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20 August 2026 Jewish News

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Restore Britain Party / China links / News

Restore Britain donor said ‘God bless Hitler’ A donor to Restore Britain praised Adolf Hitler and claimed Jews were “deceiving” the public about their population numbers, it has emerged, writes Joy Falk. Miles Routledge, an online personality known as “Lord Miles”, who has built a following by travelling to war zones and other dangerous destinations, donated to the party and was part of its Cromwell Club, an exclusive group for supporters contributing £2,500 a year, according to the Daily Telegraph. Routledge has previously written on X: “Hitler was a great man, God bless him. We need another Hitler.” He also said the prospect of “another Hitler” emerging by 2039 filled him with “joy and hope for the world”. In separate comments about Jews, Routledge claimed they were “deceiving us about their true numbers” in order to “cling to that ‘brink of extinction’ myth”. He also described the phrase “awesome Jew” as an “oxymoron”, comparing it with “loving paedophile” and “peaceful genocide in Gaza”.

Responding to the Daily Telegraph’s report about his comments and links to Restore Britain, Routledge wrote on X: “Heil Hitler and such”. He also shared a screenshot of his previous comments about the phrase “awesome Jew”, adding: “They threw insults but never called me wrong.” Restore Britain confirmed it had received donations from Routledge but said the money was returned several weeks ago. A party spokesperson said: “Donations from this individual were refunded weeks and weeks ago. “He is not a member and has no relationship with the party. Yet another failed hit job from the Daily Telegraph. It is beyond pathetic now.” The revelations come after Restore Britain co-founder Charlie Downes appeared to suggest Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had been “bought” by Jews after responding to Farage’s claim that he “could not be bought” with a photograph of him at the launch of Reform’s Jewish caucus.

China cash link to UK Gaza protests US politicians are investigating claims that money linked to China has helped fund a group involved in pro-Palestinian protests in Britain. The Telegraph, which first reported the investigation, said US officials are looking into the UK activities of Code Pink, a far-Left antiwar group which has encouraged supporters to join Gaza protests. The group has also organised demonstrations outside the Ministry of Defence and British military bases and previously claimed UK leaders were “bought by Zionism”. The investigation is looking at money linked to Neville Roy Singham, a wealthy American businessman who has been accused of funding groups that promote messages supportive of the Chinese Communist Party. According to The Telegraph, a UK company linked to Code Pink received more than £190,000 from organisations said to be connected to Singham in 2020 and 2021. The company reportedly received another £70,000 in 2024 from the People’s Support Foundation, which is also suspected of being part of Singham’s network. US investigators are now examining whether money from the network has supported political campaigns and protest groups in Britain. Representative Jason Smith, chairman of the US Congressional House Ways and Means Committee, told The Telegraph: “It’s clear from the Ways and Means Committee investigation that Singham’s money and influence

Miles Routledge praised Adolf Hitler and made inflammatory comments about Jews

THE LONDON CANTORIAL SINGERS

‫בס״ד‬

SELICHOT 2026

MOTZEI SHABBAT 5 SEPTEMBER 2026 @ 10:30PM EDGWARE UNITED SYNAGOGUE ALL WELCOME TH

Protesters at a Pro-Palestine march in May

does not stop at America’s borders. The committee is well aware that Singham’s funding is supporting pro-Hamas and pro-communist causes not only in the United States, but also overseas, including in the United Kingdom.” A congressional source told the newspaper: “We are aware that China is funding pro-Hamas and leftists in the UK and the US. That is why we are investigating it and will continue to do so.” Code Pink has regularly campaigned over Israel and Gaza and encouraged activists to join large pro-Palestinian marches. In May last year, responding to comments from Israeli ministers about the war in Gaza, the group said: “Our leaders bought by Zionism will certainly not, but the people will.” Code Pink was co-founded by Jodie Evans, Singham’s wife. The organisation has faced growing scrutiny in Washington over its funding and its support for China. Singham has denied working for China.

WITH SOLOISTS HENRY BLACK AND ELI PERRY CHOIR CONDUCTED BY ALAN FREEDMAN ADDRESS BY RABBI LISTER REGISTRATION: https://tinyurl.com/selichot26

GUEST CANTOR A IYA AV Y NACHSHON YA AVIYA MAKING HIS DEBUT PERFORMANCE IN THE UK

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Jewish News 20 August 2026

Special Report

Quake-hit families still waiting to return home Two months after Venezuela’s earthquakes killed three members of its Jewish community, many are still struggling without support Two months after devastating earthquakes tore through Venezuela, more than 100 Jewish households are still waiting for repairs to their homes, writes Annabel Sinclair. Three members of the country’s Jewish community were killed after the earthquakes struck on 24 June and at least 15 Jewish families lost their homes. Many others were displaced after apartments were left too badly damaged to live in. Now, new accounts from survivors reveal the lasting impact of the disaster on Venezuela’s Jewish population – a community of just 4,000 people – and how neighbours have taken each other in while families wait to go home. Among them is 59-year-old English teacher Sol Bendayan De Bretto, who was with her 90-year-old father in their sixthfloor apartment in San Bernardino when the earthquakes struck. Their home suffered extensive structural damage and the pair escaped down a staircase covered in rubble. They are now staying with friends while World Jewish Relief (WJR) and the Hebraica Jewish Community Centre work on repairs. “The sound was horrible … there’s a building that fell down completely like half a block from here … everything was white outside, and we were very scared,” she said. Bendayan De Bretto is used to being the person helping in an emergency. A Hatzalah volunteer, she is normally there for others, but her own experience left her struggling to process what had happened. “I belong to Hatzalah, and I’m always there for everybody. But when this happened, I couldn’t even talk to anybody,” she said. “I shut down for two weeks.” What she wants now is to return to the ordinary life she had before the disaster. “I used to stand on my balcony and feed the macaws … I would love to be able to come back to my house and have a regular life again.” She said the support she has received from the Jewish community has been extraordinary. “The support from our community is amazing, amazing. We help each other a lot. Thank you!”

Damage to 89-year-old Rebecca Franco’s home in Caracas, with her wardrobe exposed to the outside

Another resident forced from her home is Berta Manzilla, a biology and chemistry professor at Maor Hatora College in Caracas. She was taking notes at home when her phone suddenly displayed a danger warning moments before the earthquakes struck. “I was in the house at the time of the earthquake, taking notes, and my phone turned black and said, ‘Danger’. I grabbed the wallet, and my biggest concern was that the exit door would lock,” she said. The small wallet contained her medicines and documents. She grabbed it and fled. “I remained calm because I knew that my life depended on my way of acting. I couldn’t afford to feel fear.” The damage made her apartment impossible to live in. “The amount of debris did not allow one to stay. There were even walls that could fall on the beds, and this was not habitable.” Manzilla has since been staying with members of the Jewish community while WJR and Hebraica work on repairs. “I feel supported by the Jewish community. Thanks to the people in the community who have allowed me to be in their homes.” For Rebecca Franco, the earthquakes struck just before what should have been a happy family occasion – the 89-year-old was

preparing to celebrate her birthday, and a cake had already been ordered. Instead, the interior walls of the apartment where she had lived for decades were destroyed, forcing her to leave. She is now staying with her daughter while engineers assess the damage to the building. Her daughter recalled: “We had already ordered the cake so that they would sing her happy birthday on Thursday, a day after the earthquakes … she was very happy that she was going to celebrate it.” The three survivors are among more than 100 Jewish households in the area of the earthquakes still requiring repairs, according to an update this week from the Hebraica Jewish Community Centre. Their stories were gathered during a recent visit to Venezuela’s Jewish community by World Jewish Relief, which is working with Hebraica to help displaced residents to return home. The disaster hit a community already a fraction of its former size. Venezuela was once home to around 40,000 Jews, but years of political and economic instability in the country prompted many to leave. Today, around 4,000 remain. San Bernardino, where many Jewish residents live, was particularly badly affected. James Silverman, WJR’s head of humanitarian programmes, recently

visited Venezuela to assess the damage and the continuing needs on the ground. What he found shocked him: “It was much larger than I had anticipated, and it was much more severe than I had anticipated.” But while the Jewish community was dealing with damage to its own homes and the loss of three of its members, it also became part of the wider relief effort. Hebraica says it opened its doors to around 1,500 people from within and beyond the Jewish community immediately after the earthquakes, providing a safe place for those who had fled damaged buildings. Ezra Klein, director of the Hebraica Jewish Community Centre in Caracas, said the community had been able to offer immediate refuge but could not rebuild damaged homes alone.

“When a sudden crisis strikes, the Jewish community is there for each other…” he said. “We were able to provide a safe haven when the earthquake first happened, but we are unable to fix people’s houses alone… “It is when we see the help of international organisations such as World Jewish Relief, CADENA, IsraAID, Keren Hayesod and others … we feel safe.” World Jewish Relief says it has provided aid to more than 4,000 displaced Venezuelans since the earthquakes struck. The help includes clean water systems and filters, emergency shelter, hygiene kits, solar lamps, mosquito nets and psychosocial support for children, alongside repairs to damaged homes. As Silverman explained: “The needs are constantly shifting … a chronic need that has remained within the Jewish community is home repair.” The needs extend far beyond the Jewish community. Nearly two months after the earthquakes, thousands of Venezuelan families remain displaced, with some still living in tents exposed to heat and mosquitoes, while thousands of homes remain uninhabitable. Silverman warned the effects of the disaster would continue to be felt for months: “It is extremely severe … the needs will remain for a fairly long time.” World Jewish Relief is continuing its emergency appeal to provide humanitarian support and help members of the Jewish community repair damaged homes. ◆ To support WJR’s quake response, visit the charity’s Venezuela online appeal

Berta Manzilla inside her earthquake-damaged home in Caracas

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20 August 2026 Jewish News

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Shul attack / Tourists abused / News

THREAT Man charged after violent ‘HITLER’ TO TOURISTS Shabbat service disruption “I understand the sanctity of this A 46-year-old man has been arrested space and its meaning for congregants. and charged with hate crimes after Central Synagogue is where I grew a violent disruption during Shabbat up. In joy and in sorrow, it has always services at New York’s Central been a place of comfort and peace. Synagogue last Friday, writes Lee What happened there tonight is deeply Harpin. painful. A place of worship should Police identified the suspect as never be a crime scene.” Larry Montes, from the city’s Bronx In a statement posted on Facebook district. Montes damaged synagogue hours after the attack, Central property and, as security tried to Synagogue expressed gratitude for remove him, “spat at and headbutted the outpouring of support following a security guard” police said. Friday’s “disturbing events.” A 63-year-old woman “suffered “We will keep on gathering for a small cut to her lip and injuries to CCTV footage of the violent disruption in New York joyful, meaningful Judaism with our her right forearm after being struck by the man,” an NYPD spokesperson also him out, he struck a member of the Central family every week,” the temple congregation, damaged synagogue wrote, reaffirming their commitment to confirmed. The incident unfolded just after 6 p.m., as property, and then spit at and headbutted community and worship. He was screaming and yelling. I heard a loud pop … We thought the Kabbalat Shabbat service began inside a member of the security team. “An NYPD sergeant working a paid detail it was a gun and people were a little shaken, Central Synagogue. A live stream captured at the synagogue immediately stepped in but the security people were right on it,” said the entire incident. Susan Roane, who attended the service. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and took the individual into custody. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who “I have spoken with the rabbi of the stated that Montes has been charged with “two counts of assault as a hate crime and synagogue, and I’m relieved that no one was has previously faced criticism from some of one count of criminal mischief as a hate seriously injured. Those who were hurt were the city’s Jewish community over his stance on Israel, condemned the attack. evaluated at the scene and are doing well. crime, along with other charges.” “This despicable act has no place in “There are no known additional threats Tisch posted on X:”Earlier this evening, an individual disrupted Shabbat services at at this time, and additional NYPD resources our city, and our administration will do have been deployed to the synagogue. The everything in our power to keep Jewish New Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Yorkers safe,” he said in a post on X. “As synagogue security was escorting investigation is ongoing.

French ministers have condemned an antisemitic death threat against a Jewish couple after they were allegedly told that Hitler should have “finished the job” during a confrontation in a supermarket. The Australian tourists were approached by an Irish man while Irish man who shopping in Avignon on Tuesday, abused couple before what began as a friendly conversation became hostile after the couple revealed they were Jewish and mentioned Israel. Footage filmed during the encounter shows the man threatening to “put a f***ing bullet” in their head. The incident has now drawn a response from the French government, with tourism minister Serge Papin and equality minister Aurore Bergé condemning the threats “in the strongest possible terms”. In a joint statement on Thursday, the ministers said the man had allegedly made “serious antisemitic remarks” before threatening to kill the couple. They added that comments invoking the Holocaust “cannot be trivialised or tolerated” and pledged that antisemitic threats would not be allowed to go unanswered. Papin said: “France is a welcoming land, open to all those who wish to discover it, regardless of their nationality or religion. “No tourist should be targeted, threatened, or discriminated against because of who they are or what they believe.”

ARE WE LIVING IN A POST-ZIONIST ERA? The Zionist dream for the creation of the State of Israel was finally fulfilled in 1948 - yet nearly eight decades on we continue to hold on dearly to the ‘Z’ word. Simon Sebag Montefiore and Anthony Julius have differing views on whether it’s time to move beyond a word which continues to evoke such passion and pride around the globe.

In this exclusive debate organised by Jewish News and a central London Synagogue, the pair will debate whether it is time to recognise that we’re living in a post-Zionist era or, at a time when the ‘Z’ word is both misunderstood and maligned globally, is it time to double down and hold the word closer than ever.

DATE: 5th October 2026 LOCATION: Central London venue

Simon Sebag vs. Anthony Julius Montefiore TICKETS: £15 https://shorturl.at/deDFT

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Jewish News 20 August 2026

News / Fringe court case / Robinson hired

Jewish comic wins fringe discrimination legal case

Vindicated: Philip Simon

A venue has accepted that it discriminated against a Jewish comedian when it cancelled his show at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, writes Joy Falk. Stand-up comic Philip Simon had been due to perform a solo show called Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way at the Banshee Labyrinth, on the city’s Niddry Street. However, the venue pulled his act over what it said were his views on the conflict in Palestine. In a statement given at the time to industry magazine Chortle, the venue said Simon had expressed views on social media and elsewhere that it said “align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations”. Responding to the decision on social media, the performer said he had been cancelled “just for being Jewish”. “The reason I was given is that my views concerning the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine… ‘are in significant conflict with our venue’s stance against the current Israeli government’s policy and actions’,” he said. “Anyone who knows me will know I have

never expressed support for anything other than freeing the hostages and finding a way to peace. “It is sad to think that these views could conflict with anyone who wants to see a lasting peace in Israel and Gaza.” He added: “I am still processing the concept that in 2025 I can be cancelled just for being Jewish.” Simon took legal action against the venue, claiming it had discriminated against him on the grounds of “unlawful beliefbased discrimination”. This culminated in a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, where Simon’s lawyer, David Welsh, said “on the eve of the hearing” the venue accepted it had acted unlawfully. The lawyer told the court: “The defender conceded that the defender discriminated against the pursuer, contrary to the provisions of the Equalities Act.” He added: “Following the defence’s concession… the whole issue of liability has now been resolved in the pursuer’s favour. “The pursuer has been entirely successful

GREENSTEIN ‘INVITED SUPPORT FOR HAMAS’ ON DAY OF ATTACK An activist recently expelled from the Green Party following allegations of “repeated instances of antisemitism” issued a “rallying cry” to invite support for terrorist group Hamas on the day Israel was attacked, prosecutors have said. Tony Greenstein, 72, of Brighton, is on trial at Kingston Crown Court charged with one count of inviting support for a proscribed organisation. The charge is in relation to three posts on his X account on 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

On Tuesday, the court heard that in the three posts, Greenstein wrote: “Please share. Full support for the Gaza ghetto uprising.” Jurors were told that the posts had links to a blog that included the line: “The time to fight is now. Whatever criticisms one can make of Hamas, we should congratulate them on this well-planned and audacious attack on the Zionist enemy.” Hamas is proscribed as a terror group in the UK. Opening the case, prosecutor Kate Temple-Mabe said that Greenstein is

a “prolific activist and campaigner” who “opposes the state of Israel and supports the liberation of Palestine”. She went on: “There are a great many people who oppose the state of Israel... believe that the Israelis unlawfully occupy Palestine, and that Palestine should be liberated, and who publicly express those views. “The law does, however, make it a crime specifically to invite support for the organisation Hamas, because Hamas is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act.”

Parkinson’s is in the genes Continued from page 1 “The encouraging news is that the primary genes of relevance, LRRK2 and GBA1, are the exact targets of exciting new precision therapies currently in clinical trials, putting this community in a prime position to benefit from the next generation of targeted, personalised treatments.” The study authors said the concentration of genetic risk around particular LRRK2 and GBA1 variants could make genetic testing particularly useful for

Ashkenazi Jewish patients. Targeted screening can detect these variants and could give patients and their families more precise information about the genetic contribution to their disease, as well as helping to inform genetic counselling. The findings could also make Ashkenazi Jewish patients particularly relevant to current and upcoming clinical trials, as experimental drugs are already being developed to target the proteins encoded by LRRK2 and GBA1. The study authors also high-

lighted people who carry variants in both genes. Studying the “dual carriers”, they said, could offer important clues about how different genetic pathways interact and ultimately help scientists develop more personalised treatments targeting more than one pathway. The wider study mapped genetic risk across populations around the world, highlighting differences between ancestral groups and the importance of greater diversity in Parkinson’s research.

on the question of liability.” However, he was very critical of the defender’s “conduct” throughout Simon’s legal action, saying it had “dragged out proceedings” despite knowing any defence was “untenable”. He told the court this led to his client to incur “avoidable expenses at every stage”, and called on the court to award him expenses incurred to date. He told the court: “Given that all the expenses to date have been dealt with on the question of liability… I would say that entitles the pursuer to the expenses of the case to date.” He added: “There was never a need for the action to reach the court in the first place, if the defender had behaved reasonably.” Responding, the venue’s lawyer, Darren Cox, disputed whether it would have been possible to settle the matter pre-litigation. He said not all costs incurred to date related to the question of liability, and called for a decision on expenses to be deferred “until the end”. Judge Sheriff Roderick Flinn said he would retire to consider the question of expenses, and give his decision later.

Robinson in video support for Chikli Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has enlisted farright activist Tommy Robinson to appear in a Likud video, urging party members to vote for him. The video, released last weekend ahead of the party’s primary elections, features Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – addressing Likud members directly. In the video, he said: “I want to wish every success to my dear friend, Minister Amichai Chikli.” Attempting to pronounce the number 139 in Hebrew, which is the Diaspora Affairs Minister’s number on the election slate, Robinson said: “I know I said that wrong, but Minister Chikli understands the problem the West faces and that we must unite all patriots for civilisation.” Robinson flew to Israel last October to meet with Chikli and visit the Knesset to meet Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. The pair had allied their joint support for anti-immigration, nationalist ideologies, and for speaking of the alleged threat posed to the entire West by Islamists. The Israeli minister went on to post the endorsement from Robinson on his social media

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon records video message of support for Israeli minister Amichai Chikli

last weekend. He said: “I had the privilege of breaking the foolish boycott of conservative right-wing movements in Europe, many of whose leaders are among our best friends around the world.” “I will continue to strengthen Israel’s strategic ties with the European right and European street, such as Tommy Robinson, who leads a movement of millions of British patriots.” The Board of Deputies was among those to criticise Chikli in the past, and when he made the visit to Israel said: “Robinson is a thug who represents the very worst of Britain.”

20 August 2026 Jewish News

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We are delighted to invite you to our

Rosh Hashanah Tea With Guest Speaker, Major Andrew Fox former British Army paratrooper & defence analyst specialising in Middle East security & media analysis Tuesday 8th September 2026 3pm-5pm Venue: North West London Price: £20 per person

RSVP: 020 8732 6101 or email: kklevents@kkl.org.uk

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FAUDA Wed 2nd September 2026 19:15 light reception 21:30 event concludes NW London venue Minimum suggested donation: £35 per person BOOK HERE Proceeds will support TAU’s PTSD Clinic at the National Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience A COLLABORATION BETWEEN

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In conversation with Avi Issacharoff, co-creator of Fauda, Middle East analyst and Tel Aviv University alumnus

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Jewish News 20 August 2026

News / Muslim schools / Cybersecurity

Schools probed for Hamas links The Department for Education is reviewing concerns about four Muslim independent schools run by a charity facing scrutiny over alleged Hamas links, writes Joy Falk. Officials are assessing information about schools operated by the AlKhair Foundation after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) raised concerns about safeguarding, extremism and compliance with the Prevent duty. The move comes as the Charity Commission carries out a separate statutory inquiry into Al-Khair following allegations concerning its links to Hamas and the handling of charitable funds. The four schools are Al-Khair Preparatory School and separate

secondary schools for boys and girls in Croydon, as well as Al-Khair Preparatory School in Oldbury, Birmingham. Together, they educate more than 550 children. UKLFI contacted the DfE’s Counter-Extremism Division on 10 July, submitting a report which alleged links between people associated with the foundation and Hamas. The organisation said its investigation had identified at least two people employed by Al-Khair as alleged Hamas operatives and another employee with significant links to Hamas figures. The DfE subsequently confirmed the case had been referred to its Counter-Extremism and Non-

School Education team. In correspondence with UKLFI on 11 August, the department said: “We are continuing to work with other government departments and agencies to assess all the information that has been provided to us and determine next steps.” The review follows the arrest in London on 31 July of Mohammad

Yousef Hasna, who had described himself on LinkedIn as Al-Khair Foundation’s global director. US prosecutors have charged Hasna with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism and financing terrorism. Each charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Allegations against Al-Khair and the individuals associated with it have not been established against the four schools, and the DfE has not announced any enforcement action against them. UKLFI said it had warned education officials that allegations involving people connected to AlKhair raised questions over checks

on staff, outside speakers and organisations working with its schools. Under the statutory Prevent duty, schools must have measures in place to reduce the risk of children being drawn into terrorism. A UKLFI spokesperson said: “We welcome the Department for Education’s review. The allegations concerning Al-Khair Foundation are extremely serious.” The regulator said its investigation will examine the trustees’ management of the charity, checks carried out on international partners and the ultimate destination of money sent overseas. It has also imposed restrictions on some of the charity’s financial activities .

JEWISH CHARITIES FACING MAJOR CYBER ATTACK

Beacon reported a breach

A number of Jewish organisations are among those which may have been affected by a major cybersecurity attack on a UK company providing customer relationship management (CRM) services for charities. Beacon CRM, which provides a software system for charities often used to record data, including that of members and donors, confirmed last

week that “copies of database backups were made and likely downloaded” by an “unauthorised third-party”. It went on to say that “it is highly unlikely we will be able to ascertain any more granular detail regarding exactly what data this was and to whom it relates”, so it was advised “out of an abundance of caution” to assume stored data was downloaded.

Since then, charities such as Masorti UK, JTeen and Friends of the Sick (Chevrat Bikkur Cholim) have issued public statements confirming that they were Beacon CRM customers, and warning those who may have interacted with them to exercise extra caution. Masorti contacted its members, telling them: “As you may already be aware, Beacon, a third-party CRM

client used by Masorti Judaism to interact with members and supporters, experienced a cyberattack last week. Beacon, which is used by over 1,500 charities, verified that “a copy of the database which holds all Beacon customer data, including attachment files, was made and likely downloaded in a readable format by the threat actor”.

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Book backlash / School fears / News

London shop removes Mein Kampf from sale A London Arabic bookshop has removed Mein Kampf from sale after facing criticism from Jewish organisations over its decision to stock Adolf Hitler’s antisemitic manifesto, writes Annabel Sinclair. Aafaq Bookstore on Edgware Road confirmed the U-turn after three Arabic-language copies of the Nazi leader’s book were found on sale at the newly opened store. A notice has now been placed in the shop window telling customers: “At Aafaq Bookstore, we value the views and concerns of our customers and the The Arabic version of the infamous book in the shop local community. After concerns were raised regarding a particular title, we reviewed proximity to West Central Liberal Synagogue. Aafaq later disputed Keck’s account of how the matter and decided to remove the book from sale. We remain committed to providing the books had been displayed, saying they had a welcoming bookstore for everyone in our been stacked together among history books community.” The decision follows criticism on a table at the rear of the shop and were not from the Community Security Trust (CST), prominently displayed or promoted. The bookshop also alleged that Keck had Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Board of Deputies and Conservative Hyde Park rearranged the three copies side by side before taking the photograph. councillor Elliot Keck. It previously told Jewish News: “The Keck sparked the row after visiting the shop and photographing three Arabic-language presence of a controversial historical book in a bookshop does not constitute endorsement copies of Mein Kampf. He also raised concerns about the shop’s of its ideas. Aafaq unequivocally rejects Nazi

ideology, antisemitism, racism and Islamophobia.” Keck rejected the bookshop’s response, telling Jewish News: “It is very clear from the images that I have separated them to show the number of copies they have on sale. “This is a bizarre way to distract from the fact that upon opening they chose Mein Kampf as one of the first books to stock and display on one of their main display tables in what is a small bookshop.” Questions had also been raised over whether the edition was intended for academic or historical study. Critical and annotated editions of Mein Kampf include commentary that places Hitler’s claims and Nazi ideology in their historical context and challenges the text. There is nothing visible on the front or back cover of the Arabic edition sold by Aafaq identifying it as a critical or annotated edition. Jewish News has not examined the book’s contents. Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) previously highlighted the distinction, saying: “There is certainly a place for understanding history through annotated versions of texts

HATE THREAT TO STUDYING

The headteacher of JFS considered stopping after-school revision sessions because pupils were reporting antisemitic incidents “a couple of times a week” on journeys home. Dr David Moody said there was a period after 7 October when incidents involving pupils became so regular that he questioned whether it was safe for Year 11 students to remain at school later for exam revision. Speaking to Rosa Doherty on WIZO UK’s Impacting Your Future podcast, Moody said: “There was one point where I was thinking of pulling the Year 11 intervention, which went on after school, because something would regularly happen on the way down.” He explained that the sessions involved teachers putting on revision for Year 11 pupils before they travelled home later than usual. Moody said he did not witness the incidents but pupils reported what had happened to them. “You definitely run into kids where they were coming up to report it to you, saying that things had happened and that was happening a couple of times a week.” He added: “And I thought, is this safe to continue?” Moody said there was “a lot more antisemitism” from October until around March, before the situation began to ease. His account comes after Sir David Bell, who is leading a government-commissioned review into antisemitism in schools and colleges, warned of the extraordinary security pressures facing Jewish schools.

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News / Exam success

Class effort: A-level pupils celebrate stellar results Thousands of Jewish students are celebrating after achieving impressive grades for ‘A’-level and vocational courses, with more than half awarded results at the highest levels between A* and A, securing places at top-ranked universities and apprenticeships across the country. Twenty four percent of students at Yavneh College in Borehamwood achieved an A* and 65% between an A* and grade A. Spencer Lewis, the school’s executive headteacher, said pupils “have done incredibly well again this year both at A-Level and in their vocational courses. It is clear just how hard they have worked, and they should be so pleased with what they have achieved. I could not be prouder of what our students have achieved, and I am delighted for them. Thanks as always, must go to their teachers whose dedication and commitment have facilitated these hugely impressive results. Well done to all.” At JFS in Harrow, 52% of grades

Pass masters: A-level students at Yavneh and Immanuel College celebrate outstanding results

were awarded at A* or A; 81% at A*–B and 94% at A*–C. Vocational results were equally strong, with 66% of all grades awarded at Distinction or Distinction*. Headteacher Dr David Moody, said: “It is an incredible set of results that reflects all the hard work of a fantastic group of students. Their dedication, tenacity and resilience are an inspiration to others, and

everyone should be extremely proud of what they have achieved.” Immanuel College in Bushey, Hertfordshire, which has recently undergone a dramatic last-minute reprieve from closure following a £12 million investment injection, reported that 52% of students achieved A-levels graded between A*-A and 87% A-Levels were graded A*–B. Meanwhile, 88% of BTEC

students achieved Distinction*Distinction, 100% of BTEC students achieved Distinction*-Merit; and 100% of students completing the Extended Project Qualification achieved A*-A. At Hasmonean Boys School in Hendon, of the 74 candidates, more than 10% of students attained three grade ‘A’s or better, and more than a quarter of students achieved ABB

(equivalent) or higher. With an overall 90% pass rate, the vast majority of students will go on to study at yeshiva before taking up places at a number of top universities. At Hasmonean Girls School, of the 69 candidates, 21% of students attained an A* grade (compared to 15% last year); 56% of students attained A*/A grades and 74% gained A*-B grades, with an overall pass rate was 100%. At JCoSS in Barnet, this year’s cohort was the largest in the school’s history. 73% of ‘A’ level grades were awarded at A*-B, including 46% at the very highest grades of A*/A. Headteacher Dr Melanie Lee said: “We are incredibly proud of our Year 13 students and all that they have accomplished. This cohort has approached their studies with determination, maturity and a genuine commitment to making the most of every opportunity available to them.”“Their achievements reflect years of hard work and perseverance.”

20 August 2026 Jewish News

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Viagra discovery / Belfast attack / World News

Viagra may halt cancer, Israeli scientists reveal Israeli scientists have found a way in which Viagra, the drug best known for treating male erectile dysfunction, can help stop the spread of cancer through a newly-discovered biological mechanism, writes Michelle Rosenberg. In peer-reviewed research published in July’s Cancer Research, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science showed that sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, disrupts cancer cells’ cholesterol supply, a crucial material they need to metastasise to other organs. Prof Ayelet Erez, Yarden Ariav and Dr Samah Hayek The research was led by Dr. Yarden Ariav from Professor Ayelet Erez’s human patients, and data collected over 20 laboratory at Weizmann, researchers in Pro- years from some 5 million Clalit members. fessor Eytan Ruppin’s lab at the US National Survival rates were highest among the Cancer Institute, the Innovation Division patients who had taken both sildenafil and at Israel’s national health provider Clalit statins, a common class of cholesterol-lowHealth Services, and doctors and scientists ering drugs, six months before their diagfrom Clalit-Beilinson Hospital in Petah nosis, the data showed. Tikva. The laboratory tests focused mostly Their findings were based on mouse on cancers such as triple-negative breast cancer models, cultures of cancer cells from cancer, melanoma, and lung cancer.

A statement from the Weizmann Institute says the researchers also found that combining drugs from the Viagra family with statins, which reduce cholesterol production in the body, may be even more effective at restricting metastasis. The combination could not only limit cancer cells’ access to existing cholesterol but also prevent them from producing new cholesterol, potentially enhancing the antimetastatic effect. Professor Ayelet Erez told The Times of Israel that the next step is to “push medicine” with “a clinical trial to give Viagra to women with triple-negative breast cancer”. Erez, who is also a doctor in addition to serving as a senior researcher and dean of Weizmann’s Miriam and Aaron Gutwirth Medical School, added: “Our study underscores the importance of treating the whole patient – not just the cancer – when tailoring the most effective therapy.”

ISRAELI TELEVISION CREW IS VIOLENTLY TARGETED IN BELFAST An Israeli television cameraman was hit in the head with a glass beer mug while filming a documentary about antisemitism in Belfast. A man in his 30s has been arrested and charged in connection with the attack, i24NEWS reported on Monday. He has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, assaulting a police officer and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. The investigation remains ongoing. i24NEWS reporter Yonatan Raveh and cameraman Nadav Abbas were carrying out street interviews in the Northern Irish capital when they were approached by a man who allegedly became aggressive after learning they were from Israel. Abbas suffered a cut to his head after the man threw a large glass mug at him, according to Raveh, who described the attack in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.

A man in his 30s has been arrested

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Special Report / Haifa and Hackney

Haifa: the coexistence city Hackney wants to cut off

Jewish and Arab academics say the council risks turning its back on a place where multiculturalism is part of daily life, writes Annabel Sinclair In Haifa, coexistence is less a slogan than something encountered on a university campus, in a hospital corridor or walking through the streets. Arabic and Hebrew are heard across Israel’s northern port city. Jewish and Arab students study together at two major universities. Muslims, Christians, Druze and Jews work in the same hospitals, while the gold-domed Baha’i shrine overlooking the Mediterranean is one of the city’s defining landmarks. It is not a city without division. The Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza badly strained relations between Jewish and Arab residents, and those working to bring communities together say some of that damage remains. But as Hackney Council moves towards ending its 58-year twinning with Haifa, two senior academics in the city say councillors are overlooking precisely the kind of place that should be engaged with rather than cut off. The Green-led council voted last week in principle to terminate the relationship, established in 1968, as part of a review of its international links. The Greens have cited the war in Gaza, Israeli policy in the West Bank and their commitment to human rights in making the case for ending the partnership. The link is currently inactive and has effectively been dormant since the Covid pandemic, according to Hackney Council. Historically, however, it supported community connections including medical exchanges between Homerton Hospital in east London and Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. A final decision has not yet been taken. Dr Reda Mansour, senior director of global resource development at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, believes choosing Haifa to make a political statement about Israel ignores the character of the city itself. “Haifa is really the model of coexistence for us in Israel,” Mansour, a retired Israeli diplomat, author and historian, who is Druze, told Jewish News. “Living together, working together, studying together, is something that is so normal that nobody really speaks in terms of integration or diversity.” Haifa had around 295,700 residents at the beginning of 2025, according to the municipality. Some 72.3 percent were Jewish, seven percent Arab Muslim and 7.7 percent Arab Christian, with the remainder of other religious backgrounds or with no religious classification. Its mixed character has deep roots. Haifa developed into a cosmopolitan port during

Protesters outside Hackney Town Hall opposing plans to distance the council from Haifa. Inset: Zoe Garbett

the 19th century, attracting merchants and different religious communities from across the region. Today, Mansour describes it as an important centre for Israel’s Arab middle class, drawing doctors, academics and other professionals from towns and villages across northern Israel. The Technion is one place where that story plays out. One of Israel’s leading science and technology universities, it has around 15,000 students and has played a major role in the development of the country’s technology sector. Mansour said around 23 percent of Technion students are Arab, while one third of its students are the first generation in their families to enter higher education. For students from families with no previous experience of university, he said, admission can open a route into highly paid technology careers and dramatically change their economic prospects. He gave the example of a young Arab woman from a northern village studying computer science before potentially being recruited by companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft or Intel. “You change the life course of your family,” he said. It is one reason Mansour believes attempts to isolate institutions in Haifa in support of Palestinians can have consequences their advocates may not have considered. “These are students; some of them identify as Palestinian Israelis,” he said. “So, you are going to boycott this Palestinian community,

supposedly, to protect another Palestinian community? It doesn’t make sense.” Such measures, he argued, also fail to distinguish between the Israeli government and the people and institutions affected by them. “I’m going to boycott you just for being Israeli,” he said. “They’re missing the point here.” Haifa’s influence also extends well beyond its mixed population. The Technion was home to the development of the Lempel-Ziv datacompression algorithm, which became the basis for the technology used in formats including ZIP, GIF and PNG. Professors Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research into how cells break down unwanted proteins, while Technion scientist Dan Shechtman won the same prize in 2011 for his discovery of quasicrystals. Mansour described Haifa as “Israel’s Silicon Valley”, pointing to the concentration of international technology companies in and around the city. Professor Uriel Simonsohn, a historian at the University of Haifa whose work focuses on religious communities and shared society, is careful not to present Haifa as an uncomplicated success story. “It’s not without tension,” he told Jewish News. But its long history as a mixed city, he said, has made interaction between communities an ordinary part of life. “People do not consider living with one another here as something that is exceptional.” That was severely tested after 7 October. Simonsohn described the months following the Hamas attacks as a period

when communities turned inwards. Jewish residents felt increasingly insecure and suspicion towards Arabs grew, while Arab Israelis feared being treated as disloyal or associated with the attackers. “It was a very tense time,” he said. The resulting rift, he said, has not entirely disappeared. Yet Jewish-Arab projects have continued during the war. The Hackney controversy intensified when the council initially gave Haifa until 7 October 2026 – the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks – to respond to the proposed ending of the twinning. Mayor Zoë Garbett subsequently apologised and moved the deadline to 14 October, describing the original date as a “deeply regretful oversight”. Simonsohn described the choice as “quite astonishing”. Mansour acknowledged that town twinning can be largely symbolic if cities do not actively use the relationship, but said it can also provide a route for exchanging expertise and learning from one another. “You can use it to advance cooperation and develop your city,” he said. He suggested that rather than cutting ties, Hackney – itself home to sizeable Jewish and Muslim communities – should send representatives to Haifa to visit its universities, hospitals and coexistence projects. “They might have a lot of things to learn from Haifa,” he said. Simonsohn’s challenge to councillors was equally direct. “Come over. Meet with us, see what we’re doing, see what people think. Ask them, go to the street, speak with people.” You’ll come out of it with a very different impression.”

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Opinion

The Wild East must be saved from extremists STEPHEN DAISLEY

T

he ongoing siege on the Palestinian village of Qusra by extremist settlers is a challenge to Israeli political and military authority, and a challenge to the rest of us too. Israel supporters, especially non-Jews like me, tend to avoid the subject of the settlements or simply echo the prejudices endemic across Western politics. All together now: the settlements are an obstacle to peace. However, I believe Jewish settlement of the Land of Israel can be legitimate, where carried out in accordance with Israeli law, and, more than that, an act of decolonisation that returns territory to an indigenous people expelled from their homeland, whether two millennia ago or in the mid-20th century by the Jordanian occupiers. Any peace threatened by the presence of Jews in Judea is not peace but politically correct ethnic cleansing. Settlement is a supreme act of Zionism and it is because of this that the rot festering within the

settlement project must be cut out. But there is an election in October, in which former chief of the general staff Gadi Eisenkot hopes to topple Benjamin Netanyahu. This leaves the state in an impossible position. The current government will not act against the extremists because the extremists are the people who keep it in power. The opposition recognises settler lawlessness as a threat to Israel’s diplomatic standing and the authority of the state itself, but an Eisenkot-led government would by necessity span left and right in precarious coalition. Any action against the settlers would have to be carefully calibrated for fear of dividing that coalition or handing the right a rallying point to regroup and hasten its return to office. That is no reason to be timid; Eisenkot and his allies should be bold. If Israel chooses a new government, that government should propose a deal to the Trump administration and the wider international community. Israel would launch a ruthless crackdown via a joint IDF-Israel police-Shin Bet task force tasked exclusively with investigating and deterring settler violence, extremism

and incitement. Its work would be backed with severe sanctions on settlers who attack Palestinians, damage or destroy their property or attempt to intimidate. Penalties for settlers who obstruct or use force against Israeli soldiers or police would also be enhanced. Equally, soldiers convicted of collaborating in settler extremism should face military prosecution. Settlers persisting in violence and disorder, should be banned from Judea and Samaria altogether. If you help undermine Israel’s legitimacy over the Green Line, you lose the right to live there. With a good faith effort on this scale, Israel would be entitled to ask the US for something big in return: recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the settlement blocs. Together, these areas comprise around four percent of the land mass of Judea and Samaria but are home to 70 percent of the settler population. Outside these blocs, nothing would change either on the ground or in terms of legal status. While the EU is unlikely to agree, the Trump administration could be persuaded by CNN-friendly images of law and order being restored in Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu pledged to ‘annex’ the settlements but never followed through. The pragmatic Israeli centre could succeed where he failed in expanding Israel’s borders while suppressing lawlessness in the ‘Wild East’. Eisenkot would be able to position himself as both scourge of nationalist extremism and defender of the Land of Israel, a middle ground position shared by many Israeli voters. By cleaving the majority of law-abiding settlers from the radical minority, he would also strengthen the state’s hand should further crackdowns be required. An enlarged Israel would be a more confident Israel and a confident Israel would be more open to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict – 7 October buried the two-state solution and it will take something momentous to resurrect the paradigm. The settlement project must be saved from its fanatics and redeemed from the common criminality into which they have plunged it. If Israel chooses a new direction in October, Bibi’s successor should show courage and boldness. Take the settlements back from the extremists.

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Opinion

The West Bank is changing every day before my eyes MOHAMMAD ASIDEH CEO, ROZANA FOR HEALTH DIPLOMACY

E

arlier this month, I walked into a meeting to discuss the International Fund led by the UK, Canada and Australia. Before it started, a friend texted: “What’s happened in Tel?” I didn’t see his next message until the meeting ended. Four young men had been killed by settlers on what was supposed to be another quiet Friday morning. He listed their names. I knew all four. We went to the same school and I played football with two of them. A settler and a soldier were killed too. There have been more dramatic events, but something about it shifted the public feeling among Palestinians in a way I haven’t felt before. It’s common now to hear: what came before Tel is not the same as what came after. We should all be ready for a new reality.

On your next visit to the West Bank, don’t be surprised if you see Israeli military jeeps patrolling Palestinian cities and no stones thrown back. There will be resistance, but a different kind. I have no idea what will it be. Everyone has been struggling to get fuel. I take taxis to my meetings for Rozana, the organisation I work for, if I go outside Ramallah, because I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to fill my car. My brother waited from morning until evening just to refill his car. If he hadn’t, he couldn’t have gone to work. No work, no food on the table. Water, electricity, medication, all that reaches the West Bank has been reduced by the Israeli government. Most people I know now think twice before they take a shower. One of the projects that Rozana runs is a mobile clinic in remote communities around Hebron. Getting our teams safely to and from clinics has become harder and riskier. Moving medical supplies, or something as basic as water, through checkpoints that open and close without warning has become harder. I’m not the complaining type. I say that because I think these injustices are rarely

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held accountable or covered in the media. Gaza remains our biggest pain and challenge, and now we fear for the safety of the people we love even when we are with them at home inside Palestinian cities. Radicals thrive on the actions of other radicals. There is no such thing as only one radical side. And yet, despite everything I’ve just described, there has been no violent uprising here. Why? I think it’s because we’ve entered a new phase of this conflict: annexation. I know many people are waiting for the election in Israel on 27 October. I’m almost 40. I grew up hearing that things would be better after the next election. This is rarely the case. I believe people in a position to act need to have a serious conversation about what might be coming– for the sake of Palestinians, Israelis and Jews around the world. Antisemitism has never needed justification. It has always been there. However, radical settlers in the West Bank will and are providing material for antisemitic voices around the world.

On my last trip to Paris, I came out of a meeting with a Jewish colleague and watched them take off their kippah before we stepped onto the street. They didn’t feel safe. Just a few days ago, a BBC interview went viral here: a settler, a lawyer, called for everyone in my town to be killed, and everyone in other Palestinian towns too, after a settler was killed in the recent settler attack on my town. I keep thinking of a line from the New Testament: “What does it benefit someone to gain the whole world, and lose their soul in the process?” It’s part of why I have always rejected violence. I felt, watching suicide bombings once justified in this place, that we were losing our soul as a people to win the war. Israel could take every part of this land. But nothing about it would stay holy in the process. So who wins? Israel, if it loses its soul building a state on another people’s suffering? Or Palestinians, who may lose everything and still refuse to surrender? In the end, I think both sides lose. Let’s use what time is left to save what can still be saved.

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Opinion

Record antisemitism becomes new normal DAVE RICH

COMMUNITY SECURITY TRUST

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our latest Antisemitic Incident Report shows 1,926 cases of anti-Jewish hate reported across the UK. It is a figure that exceeds last year’s six-monthly total by 21%; it is a figure that demonstrates how the resilience and resolve of the Jewish community continue to be tested. This total – the second-highest ever recorded in the first half of the year – is significant. It shows that antisemitic incident levels have firmly stabilised over the longer term at a far higher rate than reported prior 7 October 2023. With over 200 incidents reported every month, and over 300 in March, April, May and June, the six-monthly figure logged in 2026 eclipses the total reported across the entirety of 2022. Antisemitism has been a consistent backdrop to Jewish life in the UK since Hamas’ attack on Israel, and anti-Jewish

terrorism has moved from threat to horrific reality in the last few months. There was the terror attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation on Yom Kippur last year, and the first half of 2026 was marked by several serious incidents, all occurring in the context of war between Israel, the United States and Iran. Arson attacks have been conducted against synagogues and Jewish communal organisations, and two visibly Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green. The three days following the knife attack saw three of the highest daily totals of reported antisemitic incidents between January and June. Over a fifth of these incidents were direct responses to the attack, which included celebration, regret that more Jews had not been seriously hurt, responsibility attributed to Jews and Israel, and various other antisemitic narratives. The increase in antisemitism following the Golders Green stabbing, regardless of whether these incidents were explicitly related to the knife attack, perpetuates a pattern observed in the wake of every

❝ INCIDENTS SPIKED IN THE THREE DAYS AFTER THE GOLDERS GREEN ATTACK

major assault on Jewish life: anti-Jewish hate thrives when Jews are perceived to be vulnerable. The stabbing was one of 136 acts of physical violence targeting Jewish people in the first six months of the year. It is the record number of such incidents logged in the January-to-June period and, worryingly, a disproportionately high percentage of both victims and perpetrators of antisemitic assault were children. A record 178 instances of anti-Jewish hate affected schools, pupils and staff, and a record 117 impacted synagogues and congregants. Each of these incidents has an impact. Each of these incidents is an attempt to intimidate, undermine and undo Jewish

life in the UK. But each of these incidents also shows somebody who confronts this hostility, who is not going to allow it to go unreported, who believes in the future of the Jewish life in this country and is prepared to fight for it. The resilience and resolve of the Jewish community continue to be tested, the data is stark evidence of this, yet the Jewish community stands resilient and resolute. These are qualities that inspire CST to do our work, support our community, and do everything possible to facilitate the thriving of Jewish life. Every report helps CST to better understand the hatred that threatens our community and, in turn, helps us to do what we need to do to serve it.

Jewish legacy that gave refugees protection RABBI DAVID MASON

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HIAS+JCORE

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f I asked Jewish News readers about the modern ideas, discoveries and institutions our community has helped shape, what answers might come to mind? Perhaps Einstein and the theory of relativity, Rosalind Franklin’s role in discovering the structure of DNA, or the impact of cultural figures from Kafka to Spielberg. But one of our community’s most profound contributions remains less well known, even though it has helped save millions of lives. I’m talking about the 1951 Refugee Convention. In the week of its 75th anniversary, it remains a remarkable commitment to protection. Forged in the shadow of the horrors of the Holocaust, it was initially limited to protecting refugees in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. In 1967 it was expanded to protect people around the world; today it remains vital for those fleeing persecution. While it is a secular document, moulded by a broad array of states, institutions, and

experts, it bears too the influence of Jewish jurists and leaders. In many cases, their personal and often traumatic history of requiring refuge helped shape important aspects of the convention. Those figures included Paul Weis, who was interned at Dachau before fleeing to the UK after his release in 1939, and Rabbi Dr Isaac Lewin, an Orthodox rabbi who escaped Łódź ahead of the Nazi invasion that same year. Their stories – and the role played by other Jewish legal figures including Louis Henkin, Jacques Rubinstein, and Jacob and Nehemiah Robinson – should inspire our community’s continuing commitment to social justice. Because it was not just lived experience that shaped their work, but Jewish teaching too. I think that is still clear now: for me, the spirit of the Refugee Convention reflects so strongly the repeated command to “welcome the stranger”. And from a rabbinic perspective, parallels between the Convention’s principled moral stance and Jewish thought do not stop there. Take, for example, the principle of non-refoulement, outlined in Article 33 of the Convention. This foundational concept prohibits a state from returning a person to a place where they would face persecution or harm. I was fascinated to learn recently

that Rabbi Lewin, who played a vital role in drafting this element of the Convention, argued that this principle could be traced back to biblical Jewish law. He pointed to the Book of Amos, where God condemns Tyre for expelling Jewish refugees into harm at the hands of the Kingdom of Edom. That Jewish involvement in the foundations of modern refugee protection should be a real source of pride. But where are we left today? The legacy those jurists and thinkers have left us has rarely been more relevant. Worldwide, almost 118 million people are forcibly displaced. There is something deeply sobering about marking this anniversary while so many people still depend on the protections it enshrines. Yet at this same time, governments around the world are trying to circumvent their obligations under the Convention. Just look at the UK. This country was an original signatory in 1951: yet recent policy changes sit in direct conflict with those commitments. Sadly, examples are not limited. Take Article 31, which says states must not penalise refugees for irregular entry. Why, then, is the UK acting to bar people forced into such journeys – in the absence of safe routes – from ever becoming citizens? Or consider Article 34, which says

states must “as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees”. Nevertheless, the Government has scrapped permanent refugee status, replacing it with 30-month temporary protection, and is introducing 20-and 30-year routes to settlement. These changes will only undermine integration and weaken social cohesion. So what are my aspirations for the next 75 years of the Convention? Above all, that by 2101, it is no longer needed. But with a changing climate and deepening conflict, that feels more like a hope than a conviction. What is required, then, is a recommitment to the values that the Convention embodies. That should be a defining mission for our new government: a return to compassion, responsibility, and welcome. And it is also a challenge for British Jewry. In the face of increasing division and rising populism, I am concerned that some of the attitudes once directed towards displaced Jews are now espoused by parts of our community. Let our history move us forward instead: to speak out for refugees, condemn hate, and continue the extraordinary work Jewish communities across the country carry out alongside displaced people.

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Art and activism The work of a group of Jewish artists who helped resettle refugees fleeing the Nazis has gone on show in Eastbourne. By Anthea Gerrie

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he was the Jewish artist from Manchester who documented London’s East End, West End and the life of working people everywhere from Moscow, which she visited four times, to Wales, where she went down the mines in the name of research. Although she was famous for her lithographs before winning fresh respect as a television artist, author, designer and baroness (as the wife of a former Lord Chancellor), Pearl Binder’s art was overlooked for decades until being beautifully showcased with more than two dozen works in a new exhibition of anti-Fascist art at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne. Not that the artist named Pearline by her parents, but known to her friends as Polly, cared about showing off her illustrations when she had so many more strings to her bow. As the 1930s darkened, she played a leading role in a series on fashion history in the early days of television, wrote children’s stories, designed costumes for Joan Littlewood’s theatre company, china for Wedgwood and even a set of stained glass windows for the House of Lords. She would go on to spawn a children’s author, a political activist and a fashion historian of her own with her second husband, anti-fascist lawyer and Labour politician Frederick Elwyn-Jones. “She was always too busy making work to promote herself with exhibitions,” says Professor Lou Taylor, the youngest of three children of the socially-aware creative who worked in a textile mill and took evening classes at the Manchester School of Art before moving south. “She was proud enough that much of her work was in the collection of institutions like the British Museum and the V&A.” Busy indeed: the daughter of immigrant

Morris Kestelman, Lama Sabachthani (1943)

Pearl Binder, Baroness Elwyn-Jones, was a writer, illustrator and stained-glass artist

tailor Morris Binderofski had a lot of living to do after arriving in London in 1925 at the age of 21. She satirised the Bloomsbury set, who lived close to the cheap room she rented, as well as capturing in lithographs the working-class citizens of Whitechapel, where she later moved. She spent time in Paris as well as Moscow, where she journeyed to find out about the role of Soviet artists under Communism.

In 1933, Pearl – who before turning 30 had been married and divorced, recovered from tuberculosis and had a nervous breakdown – became, following her first Moscow trip, a founding figure of AIA, the left-wing Artists’ International Association, whose members helped resettle an ever-growing number of Jewish colleagues and other refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe. The AIA used art as political expression and built up an impressive following in the run-up to the war. Yet despite the fact they numbered more than 1,000 and held many exhibitions even as bombs pummelled London, their story has been overlooked, a fact the Towner show aims to correct in times when antisemitism has become rife and the world once again appears to be lurching dangerously to the right. The AIA’s most famous Jewish members included co-founder Misha Black (born Moisey Tcherny in Baku), Lucien Pissarro – son of the godfather of French Impressionism, painter David Bomberg, and former Bauhaus professor, painter and photographer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Also represented in the Eastbourne show is fellow Hungarian-Jewish Bauhaus alumnus and refugee Peter Laszlo-Peri, whose depiction of a Nazi photographing a hanged couple was painted in wartime before he discovered that his four brothers had died in the Holocaust. The most affecting work in the show is Morris Kestelman’s incredibly emotional Lama Sabachthani (‘Why Have You Forsaken Me?’), showing a group of eastern European Jews crying into the wilderness with their shtetl behind them. He was the son of a Whitechapel cabinet maker who found refuge from Russian pogroms in the East End.

David Bomberg, Ronda Bridge, Spain (1935)

Lucien Pissarro, Richmond Bridge (1935)

It was first exhibited in 1943, when the Final Solution was already under way and – fittingly for the artist who also served as a wartime air warden – on one of the most prominent West End bomb sites. “It was commissioned especially for the show in the only part of the building still standing after six storeys of John Lewis were blitzed out in Oxford Street,” says Andy Friend, curator of the Towner show whose book Comrades in Art is the exhibition’s inspiration. Although Pearl Binder grew up in a kosher home where the family attended synagogue weekly in her childhood, in the 1950s she followed other Jews who joined the Quakers to further the course of peace. However, she wrote in 1984 when arranging her Quaker burial (she died in 1990): “I am totally Jewish by birth and upbringing and I do not wish to renounce this profound racial inheritance.” This may be one reason she sent her youngest daughter to a kibbutz at the age of 16, says Lou, who went on become a professor of fashion history at the University of Brighton. “It was not just to get me out of the house for the summer, but also, I am now sure, so that I should learn to recognise my own Jewishness.” ◆ Comrades In Art: Artists Against Fascism runs at the Towner, Eastbourne, until 18 October

Pearl Binder, Jewish Restaurant, Brick Lane (1931-32)

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JN LIFE

Hagar Lautman dedicated her collection, above, below left and left, to her friend Rotem

“Then I understood there was something bigger here, and that my grandparents had letters like this as well. That’s timeless.” The result was a beautiful, feminine collection filled with hearts and references to women on the home front. “One of the garments I designed has more than 1,500 hearts on it. Others include a wrap dress, pajamas as the uniform of the home, and a military jacket with underwear underneath. I wanted to talk about the women on the home front and what they’re facing.” The war has undeniably shaped this new generation of Israeli

Photo by Yossi Carasso

Photo by Noi Arkobi

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ctober 7 has had a profound impact on the Israeli fashion industry, especially among the young generation of designers attempting to pick up the pieces and create something new. Last month the Fashion Design departments at Shenkar College and the University of Haifa presented their graduate shows, offering a glimpse into the bright future of Israeli fashion while also raising broader questions about the influence of the country’s current reality on its emerging designers. Alongside bold and direct references to the war, some collections were shaped by it in quieter ways – ones that neither intended nor attempted to draw explicit connections. Yet the influence was unmistakable. The younger generation in Israel has been forced to experience traumatic events, miss significant moments in their lives, and spend hundreds of days on reserve duty while studying at university. “The subjects and inspirations of the students have changed completely,” says Ilan Beja, head of fashion design at Shenkar College. “If in the past they worked with visually appealing references, nowadays they’re referring to their emotions and the space around them. Each one of them has their own interpretation for different emotions; it’s very individual. The war influenced that particular process. “Also, Israeli designers have developed remarkable creative

It’s not a usual remembrance project,” she says. “I wanted to create a collection full of movement. I used fringes and ruffles, and lilac, which was Rotem’s favorite colour. I also made a collection of silver jewelry inspired by wired earphones because Rotem used to walk with resilience. We know that them all the time. They if there is a war or a became her signature.” certain situation, we Hagar also took can fix it in one way inspiration from or another, and that’s butterflies. “I very important.” combined the motif On the Shenkar of the butterflies in runway, surrounded different ways. I created by mirrors that gave a lace dress with a butterfly the garments a futuristic print, laser-cut leather pants, yet contemporary feel, many Ilan Beja and a leather dress in the of the collections reflected shape of one. Butterflies are beauexactly what Beja described. tiful, but they’re also fragile. Just Naama Kaplan Sharon designed like Rotem.” a collection inspired by her hearing Shenkar’s Fashion Design impairment, Noa Atias explored the Department won several awards in period between marriage and divorce, the international fashion industry and Hila Vardi chose to discuss over the past year, despite the chalwomen’s empowerment in the army. lenges facing Israel today. Some graduates were “The personal stories and undoubtedly influenced by the emotional approach of our students war, like Dvir Tsimbler and are positioning them differently Ofir Vissel, who addressed from European students,” says. post-trauma from different “We live in a different culture, perspectives, while others and that’s why their creations are seemed connected bolder. Our students design from by exploration of a their heart, and people abroad are new form of mascudefinitely feeling that,” says Ilan. linity, such as Eden At the University of Haifa, some Golbary, Shir students designed blanket-like Amram and Mika garments to symbolise the need Ben Yehuda. for comfort and protection, while Hagar others, like Tomer Kristal, explored Lautman, one of the tension between revealing and the boldest graduhiding, reflecting on the fear expeates, dedicated her rienced on October 7. powerful collection One of the collections influto her friend Rotem enced by the war, but in a different Neumann, who was context, was that of Smadar Lev, murdered at Nova on who created garments inspired by October 7. love letters sent to men serving “Rotem was my on the front. Smadar’s boyfriend, childhood friend, who later became her husband, and we were very was called to reserve duty, and she close. She used to began writing letters to him. spread love every“We couldn’t contact him at the where she went, so beginning of the war. More than a that’s why I called month passed, and I felt stressed,” the collection Love to Love. It was important she says. “Two years later, I went to the Holon Museum of Design, and I for me to remember read a couple of letters women had her as the happy sent to their husbands during World person she was. War II. The first thing I noticed was Photo by Iddo Lavie the kiss on the paper, something I had done instinctively as well.

Photo by Rafi Delouya

Israeli fashion students showcase the far-reaching effects of 7 October in their latest collections. By Dor Gabay

Smadar Lev’s collection was inspired by love letters to service members

designers – but not solely through loss. It has encouraged many of them to become more introspective, emotionally honest, and deeply connected to their own stories, using fashion as a way to process personal experiences and transform them into something universal.

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Orthodox Judaism

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

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

A time for introspection “If my mother had shown me some love, then I would have been kinder to you.” “If my boss didn’t treat me so badly, I’d be in a better mood when I come home.” There are many reasons why our behaviour may not be the way we would like it to be. Other people annoy us, upset us and hurt our feelings. Even though it may seem that everyone else has it easier – each person has struggles that threaten to pull them down. In this week’s parsah, Ki Teitzei, The Torah teaches us that we, alone, are responsible for our actions.

“Fathers shall not be put to death for because of sons, and sons should not be put to death because of fathers... a man (is responsible )… for his own sins.” Deuteronomy 24.16 Hashem is well aware of the troubles that we find ourselves in, and takes into account the circumstances that we are faced with. No one can really judge another’s actions, for we do not know how hard their struggle is or how we would cope in their situation. When looking or talking to others, we need to be careful not to judge or convict. But also, when judging ourselves and considering our own actions, it’s helpful to try to look inwards and try to find ways to help ourselves improve our own character traits, rather than focusing on all the reasons and justifications of why we are failing.

This week is the beginning of Ellul – the final month of the year before Rosh Hashanah. It is a time of introspection. Warm weather and holidays may not feel like the ideal setting for this – but it could be if we set aside a little quiet time to review the year and plan how we can change. A person cannot change their past, but there are many helpful tools that can assist those who would like to develop their coping mechanisms and reactions to frustrating events. King David was ostracised by his family for the first 28 years of his life. Jacob spent years running away from his brother. Abraham was promised by Hashem to inherit the land of Israel, and yet was swindled by Efron into paying a huge price for a piece of

The Torah teaches us that we, alone, are responsible for our actions

land to bury Sara and was not blessed with children for many years. They all had good reasons to be frustrated with life and yet they grew into great people who inspire us all with their patience and good deeds. Hashem doesn’t judge us for other people’s behaviour – that is

not within our control. Even if our own behaviour falls short of our aspirations, Hashem judges us with mercy. All that is required of us is to make a real effort to change and pray for success in those efforts. May this year be a year full of growth for us all.

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH RABBI DR MARGARET JACOBI

BIRMINGHAM PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE

Repenting is a key factor in criminal rehabilitation One of the interesting things about being a magistrate is comparing English and Jewish law. There are, of course, many differences, but there are also similarities. One is that when someone has completed their punishment, they should be able to re-enter society and put their crime behind them. Does that, then, mean that Joshua Bonehill-Paine should be able to take up any post he wishes after serving his sentence for posting antisemitic material and for racial harassment of thenLabour MP Luciana Berger? The answer, in typical Jewish fashion, is “it depends”. On the one hand,

Bonehill-Paine seems genuinely to have overcome his antisemitism and now talks to others about why his views were wrong. On the other hand, little has been said about the misogyny which also formed part of his vicious attacks on Luciana Berger. We do not know if he has learnt how wrong that is, and whether he is educating others about the evils of misogyny. A second factor is what the effect of him taking up a position might be. Whether as a councillor, as first proposed, or a special advisor, Bonehill-Paine has a public role, which brings a particular responsibility. Berger has not been alone in questioning whether he

Joshua Bonehill-Paine

should hold such a position. Jewish and English law both have in common that the victim of a crime does not determine the sentence. This must be determined

A stimulating series where our progressive rabbis consider Judaism in the face of 21stcentury issues by judges who are independent, not swayed by their emotions. This does not mean that the feelings the of victim should be ignored. The hurt done to them is part of what determines their sentence. In Jewish law, both physical and emotional harm are taken into account (Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:1). The hurt the victim feels does not end with the end of the offender’s punishment. Their pain continues. If Bonehill-Paine takes up the suggested position, it will be painful for Luciana Berger and others who were hurt by him. It will also give the impression that a history of racist, antisemitic and misgogynist views is acceptable in those who hold public office. There is a final factor in Judaism, which is perhaps the most important. We are now in the month of Elul, approaching the

season of repentance, teshuvah. True repentance demands that we make amends. The Mishnah (Yoma 8:9) teaches that if we sin against another human being, our sin will only be forgiven by God if we first approach and make amends to the person we have sinned against. There is no evidence that Bonehill-Paine has approached Berger to make amends. Although we cannot judge how truly sorry he is, we can wonder whether he has truly repented if he has not done so. Rehabilitation is important. Everyone has the right to start anew. But first one has to truly repent by acknowledging the harm one has done. While we cannot judge an individual without knowing the facts, we can set out the principles that should be considered and ask whether in this case that has happened.

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