1462 - 12 March 2026

Essential Yentl

Streisand’s trailblazing tale comes to London P28

Stage sisters

Arts festival amplifies Jewish women’s voices Page 30

Streisand’s trailblazing tale comes to London P28

Stage sisters

Arts festival amplifies Jewish women’s voices Page 30

Race against time to find stem cell donor

See page 16

We need a match for mum Let there be

Jewish Culture Month launched Page 9

Iranian regime’s London hate march banned Qud riddance

by Richard Ferrer and Lee Harpin editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

A pro-Iran regime rally due to take place in central London this Sunday has been cancelled after the Metropolitan Police urged the government to intervene and stop the event.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley approached Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Tuesday evening, urging that the annual AlQuds Day march should not be permitted to proceed.

Following discussions, the Home O ce and City Hall confirmed the march will no longer go ahead.

Addressing MPs on Wednesday, Mahmood said: “What I have announced is narrowly focused on specific circumstances in a unique moment, but it does not alter an enduring fact: in this country, we

rightly pride ourselves on our freedoms, including the right to peaceful protest. It is a precious right and one that I revere, and it sets us apart from autocracies of all kinds across the world. This prohibition is therefore limited and specific.

“Of course, this year’s event interacts with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It comes at a time when the Iranian regime is attacking British forces and bases, as well as those of our allies. My first duty is to keep the public safe. Having carefully and thoroughly considered the risk assessment presented to me, I am satisfied that an order under Section 13 is necessary.”

The march had been scheduled to take place in central London this weekend – just weeks after the regime’s massacre of its own citizens.

The London event – established in 1979 by Iran’s revolutionary leader

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as a global day of demonstrations against Israel – has long been controversial because of the presence of imagery

and symbols linked to terror groups aligned with Tehran. Prior to the proscription of both Hezbollah and Hamas in the UK, flags and banners

linked to those organisations were frequently seen at the march.

The event has been organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), described in the government-commissioned Shawcross Review of Prevent in 2023 as “an Islamist group ideologically aligned with the Iranian regime”.

In recent years, demonstrators have also carried placards praising Iran’s leadership and calling for the destruction of Israel, prompting repeated criticism from Jewish organisations and community leaders who have questioned why the rally has been allowed to take place in the capital. This year’s march had drawn heightened concern amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran and growing scrutiny of Tehran’s activities abroad. This week police were granted more time to question four Continued on page 3

Khamenei’s son takes over as war escalates

Iran this week installed Mojtaba Khamenei, the hardline son of slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader as the war with Israel and the United States continued to unfold, writes Annabel Sinclair.

The move comes after Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike at the start of the conflict. Mojtaba Khamenei, regarded as an influential figure within the Islamic Republic’s inner circle, has been elevated to the regime’s highest position in what observers say signals continuity in Tehran’s hardline leadership.

His appointment has already drawn criticism from US president Donald Trump, who previously described Mojtaba as an “unacceptable” choice to lead Iran.

The leadership change comes as US and Israeli forces continue striking targets across Iran in a campaign aimed at destroying the country’s missile capabilities and weakening the Islamic Republic’s military infrastructure.

Despite the continued fighting, Trump suggested the war may already have largely achieved its objectives.

Speaking to reporters, he said the conflict was “very complete, pretty much”, although he added the timing of any formal end to hostilities would be decided together with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the same time, Trump issued a warning to Iran over the possibility of disrupting

global oil supplies, saying in a post on Truth Social that if Tehran attempted to block the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the US would strike “twenty times harder” than it had.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the coming phase of operations could be among the most intense yet, although he also noted the pace of Iranian missile launches appeared to have slowed.

For Israel, the conflict continues to take a deadly toll, with three civilians killed in two days in missile strikes this week and two Israeli

Charity ayatollah calls for ‘revenge’

A centre in north London given a £15,000 grant to promote “religious tolerance” was founded by a senior Iranian regime cleric who said in the wake of Ayatollah Khamenei’s death “seeking revenge is the religious duty of all Muslims worldwide”.

The International Islamic Link charity, whose UK branch is in Wembley, was founded by Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of the most senior figures in the Iranian theocracy.

After Khamenei’s death, Shirazi issued a fatwa describing the US and Israel as the “most wicked enemies of humanity”, that “the people of Iran and the Islamic world are the avengers of the blood of the martyred leader”, and said “seeking revenge is the religious duty of all Muslims worldwide so that the evil of these criminals may be removed from the world.”

The Jerusalem Post reported Brent Council gave the charity

£15,000 in 2009 as part of attempts to promote “religious tolerance”. When the council was alerted to the charity’s links to the Iranian regime, it said it had not commissioned the charity since and had no future plans to fund it.

Religious rulings by Shirazi include determining “in certain circumstances, death by stoning [for adultery] can be replaced by other methods”.

He also described the Holocaust as “nothing but superstition, but Zionists say the people of the world should be forced to accept this”.

The Charity Commission said it had issued “a regulatory action plan which required the trustees to ensure the charity was independent of external pressure or influence” and that “if new concerns are raised, we will assess these”.

The trustees of International Islamic Link have reportedly stated the charity has no current links to Shirazi.

The conflict has highlighted international political tensions, including disagreements over Britain’s role, as Trump criticised UK prime minister Keir Starmer for not aiding the first wave of military action against Iran.

soldiers killed when their tank was hit while fighting Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon.

One of the soldiers was from Majdal Shams, the Druze town in northern Israel where 12 children were killed by a Hezbollah rocket in 2024.

Israeli says dozens of people have also been wounded in recent missile attacks as Iran continues to fire projectiles towards Israeli cities.

Netanyahu signalled Israel’s campaign is not yet finished, as it pressed ahead with efforts to dismantle Iran’s arsenal and weaken the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities.

However, the UK later allowed US forces to carry out what officials described as “defensive operations” from British bases. American bombers have since landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and US aircraft have used other British facilities.

British forces have also increased their presence in the region. RAF Typhoon and F-35 jets are carrying out defensive patrols, while a Merlin helicopter capable of detecting incoming drones and missiles is expected to join operations.

ITALIAN DIPLOMAT ACCUSED

The government has called for an “urgent investigation” into Francesca Albanese over a “series of comments” on the Palestinian territories made by the United Nations rapporteur.

Albanese has repeatedly come under fire for extreme social media posts, including one in which she stated the Hamas-led attack on 7 October was a “reaction to Israel’s oppression”.

Last month the Italian diplomat accused international governments of enabling a “genocide” and referred to a “common

FARAGE: IRAN HAS CHANGED OUR COUNTRY

Nigel Farage has claimed the UK has fundamentally changed as a result of terrorism funded by Iran in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks.

The Reform UK leader strongly criticised Keir Starmer’s position over the US-Israel-Iran war, saying: “Frankly, if this operation stops Iran getting a nuclear weapon, it would have been worth it. I believe that very, very strongly.”

Farage added: “I would argue in the case of Iran, this country has fundamentally changed.”

enemy of humanity” when speaking about Israel at a conference in Doha.

After complaints about the remarks by more than 40 peers, Labour MP Luke Akehurst submitted a question asking about the government’s position on Albanese.

Parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Foreign Office Chris Elmore responded: “Ministers have raised these concerns directly with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UK has asked that the comments of the Special Rapporteur be urgently investigated.”

Hebrew speakers beaten in attack

Two Israeli-American men were taken to hospital after being attacked while speaking Hebrew outside a restaurant in California, in what police say was a possible hate crime.

The assault happened on Sunday outside Augustine restaurant in Santana Row, a busy shopping and dining area in San Jose.

The two said they were waiting for a table when three young men approached and began hitting them.

Video from the scene shows both victims struck repeatedly in the

head. One victim said the attackers aimed their blows deliberately.

“Every punch connected directly to where they wanted, to the head directly,” he said. “It was on purpose to hit and make maximum damage.”

The injured men, who asked not to be identified, were taken to hospital with injuries including facial swelling, cuts and bruising.

Witnesses reported hearing the attackers shout abuse, including “F*** the Jews” and “don’t mess with Iran” during the assault.

Al Quds day march banned

Continued from page 1

The Board of Deputies also welcomed the decision: “The right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression are fundamental in a democratic society, and restrictions should not be imposed lightly.

“However, in this case, we welcome the home secretary and the Metropolitan Police’s decision to ban the Iranian regime-backed Al Quds Day marches – something we have long called for.

“Britain’s streets should not be used as a platform for antisemitism, extremism or support for terrorism. We continue to also press for the full proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose ideology and influence underpin Al Quds Day.”

The IHRC has said it will now go ahead with a static rally instead.

Lord Walney, former government independent adviser on political violence, said the home secretary should consider a further ban. He said: “It was the right decision to ban this due to the risk of serious disorder, but it’s not clear how that risk would be substantially lessened if they go ahead with a static protest. So this does highlight the loophole in our public order legis-

lation, which is well-intentioned due to the freedom of assembly. But that freedom is not absolute, and in exceptional cases like this, it makes sense for the police to be able to recommend that a large, static protest doesn’t go ahead either.

“Given the volatility of the situation... I hope this is an issue the home secretary will look at urgently.”

The IHRC said it “strongly condemns” the banning decision and was seeking legal advice.

Confirming a “static protest” would go ahead on Sunday, the statement said: “The police have brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favour. They cannot present

evidence because there is none. In essence, this is a politically charged decision, not one taken for the security of the people of London.”

Former Met chief superintendent Dal Babu said on BBC Radio 4 that the march would have been “extremely challenging” to police adding: “The last time we had a ban was in 2012, so this is a very, very serious decision, but it would have been based on police intelligence.

“There are people who want to demonstrate against what [the]Iran regime is doing. There are Jewish groups that want to demonstrate.”

Al Quds Day is named after the Arabic name for Jerusalem, and is traditionally held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

Police hunt demo woman

Sussex Police are appealing for help to identify a woman they want to question over an alleged racially aggravated public order offence at a pro-Palestine protest in Brighton on 28 February.

In a statement, the force said: “If this is you, or if you recognise the person, please report it online or call 101, quoting crime reference 47260040186.”

Police said officers were

An alleged antisemitic incident involving an Australian primary school pupil who “celebrated” deaths of victims of the Bondi terror attack has been raised in the country’s parliament.

The claim came at a New South Wales budget hearing where independent Sydney MP Tania Mihailuk said the antisemitic incident was one of “at least 100” reported across NSW public schools since early 2024.

Mihailuk said the alleged incident took place at Granville South Public School in western Sydney following the Bondi killings and was reported to the Department of Education’s incident hotline.

Mihailuk asked NSW department of education secretary Murat Dizdar whether he had been informed, with Dizdar saying incidents reported in schools are generally handled at school level unless further escalation is required. “The principal’s going to deal with that matter and they’re going to report it to the hotline… if they need advice,” he said.

present at the protest to facilitate a peaceful demonstration while ensuring public safety as opposing groups gathered.

During the afternoon, a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, but was later released pending inquiries.

A 66-year-old man from London was also arrested after an allegation of common assault.

Handshake for a hero

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis was in Australia this week

he met Ahmed al Ahmed, whose bravery saved many lives during the Bondi Beach terror attack in December.

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

AT LONG LAST, A TOUCH OF SANITY

For the past few years, many members of the UK Jewish community, as well as many within the wider British public, have been desperate for our police and politicians to stand up to the hate marches which have so regularly proceeded through the streets of the nation’s capital.

At long last, Whitehall and New Scotland Yard have responded.

Both the Metropolitan Police and the home secretary are to be commended for the decision to ban the annual Al Quds Day march, which is little more than a celebration of the Iranian regime and its hideous ‘axis of resistance’ which aims to destroy Israel.

Given one of the regime’s proxies fired on sovereign British territory last week, to have allowed the march to go ahead would have been grotesque – but sadly, British Jews have long since become accustomed to such outrages being countenanced by the authorities.

In a period where much of the

world appears to have gone mad, any spasm of sanity cannot be taken for granted; we should be grateful when it manifests.

Those whining about how the cancellation is some sort of travesty for democracy choose to ignore that a static demonstration looks likely to go ahead.

The route of the Al Quds march was a calculated one – starting at the Home Office, proceeding past Parliament and ending outside Downing Street – an attempt by the Iranian regime, which created the concept of Al Quds Day, to flex its withering muscles.

Impotent screeching in a cordoned off setting will neuter much of the swagger that the Khameneialigned protestors have built up in recent years.

As with the Iranian regime itself, we can only hope that in the coming period we will be able to bid good riddance to the so-called ‘Islamic Human Rights Commission’, the organiser of this annual hate-fest, altogether.

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Tap into confidence. Tap into independence.

Charities face new laws in anti-extremism move IRANIAN LEADER

The government this week announced major new plans to give the Charity Commission increased powers to close down organisations that promote extremism, writes Lee Harpin.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has asked officials to work with the regulator to expedite the process for investigating charities suspected of engaging in extremist behaviour, including strengthening its powers to shut them if necessary. The plans would ban individuals with a criminal conviction for a hate crime from serving as charity trustees or senior managers.

Under the government’s new social cohesion strategy unveiled on Monday, the watchdog will receive greater powers to remove trustees and close organisations that fuel hatred or engage in “extremist abuse”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced the plans as part of a consultation to strengthen the powers of the Charity Commission in dealing with the growing number of charities promoting extremism.

The move came at the same time as a report by the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption Lord Walney claimed the commission was “toothless” in dealing with extremist organisations operating in the sector.

Walney named several chari-

ties with alleged clear links to the regime in Tehran in his 100-page report, Undue Influence

They include the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), organiser of the annual Al Quds demonstration that has now been banned from taking place this weekend.

Walney also described the Islamic Centre of England (ICE) in north London as an apparent “central node” in the Iranianaligned charity network.

The government said it recognises robust action is necessary to ensure those with extremist agendas cannot exploit charitable status and undermine public trust in the sector.

The Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust were among the communal organisations to welcome the government’s move.

Since October 2023, the Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales to ensure the public can support them with confidence, has opened more than 400 regulatory cases for hate speech, and made around 70 referrals to police where criminal offences may have been committed.

Nandy said: “Charities are the lifeblood of our communities, and we will not allow extremists to hijack their good name.

“By giving the Charity Commission the teeth it needs to act fast and decisively, we will close the door on those who exploit charitable status to spread hate, and open a new chapter that gives the sector the protection it deserves. This is a vital step in our ongoing work of national renewal and a Britain built for all.”

Unveiling the government’s new social cohesion strategy,

communities secretary Steve Reed confirmed in the Commons the increased powers for the Charity Commission were another step in government plans to tackle rising antisemitism.

He told MPs: “The Charity Commission will be getting new powers so that it can close down those organisations that purport to have charitable objectives but are really a cover for promoting hatred and division.

“With the changes we are announcing today, that will no longer be allowed to continue.”

Reed added: “We must listen to people’s concerns about growing divisions and take action to bring our communities back together.”

Further measures under consideration include mandatory trustee ID verification, digitising charity accounts and strengthening local authority powers.

Reed told MPs the government was protecting Jewish communities with “record funding for security at synagogues and schools, millions of pounds to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities and new laws to stop abusive protests outside places of worship”.

He added: “Today, we are going even further to tackle antisemitism in schools and colleges and in the healthcare system and, crucially, clamping down hard on the extremism which so often targets Jews first of all”.

HAS PROPERTY NEAR EMBASSY

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s newly appointed leader, reportedly owns luxury London properties near the Israeli embassy in Kensington and in Hampstead, writes Lee Harpin.

The assets are held through a shell company managed by a close associate who has been sanctioned by the UK government.

According to an investigation by Bloomberg, two apartments linked to Khamenei via intermediaries are situated directly in line of sight of the Israeli embassy.

Ownership is obscured through a trusted frontman, Ali Ansari, an Iranian oligarch and close family friend. He has denied the link through his lawyer.

Ansari, a 57-year-old businessman and construction magnate, is alleged to act as a “financial conduit” for Khamenei.

Despite the supreme leader’s reported control, his name does not appear on official ownership documents.

In addition to the Kensington apartments, 11 other properties on Bishops Avenue in Hampstead – often referred to as “Billionaire’s Row” – are believed to be held under the same ownership structure. Altogether, the portfolio is estimated to be worth around £200m.

The two Kensington flats, purchased in 2014 and 2016 for £16.7m and £19m respectively, are among the most prominent assets.

Ansari is also believed to have purchased the Hampstead properties on Khamenei’s behalf in 2013, for a then-total value of £73m.

The Hampstead properties were bought through a shell company called Birch Ventures Limited, registered in the Isle of Man, whose beneficial owner, according to Land Registry and company documents, is Ansari.

POLANSKI VOTES DOWN GLA GRAFFITI MOTION Court told speech did not ‘support’ Hamas

The Green Party leader Zack Polanski voted against a London Assembly motion which described the daubing of graffiti on Winston Churchill’s statue by an anti-Israel protester – including language describing the former British prime minister as a “Zionist war criminal” – as an “appalling desecration”.

Polanski, alongside fellow Green London Assembly members Zoe Garbett and Caroline Russell, voted against the motion, proposed by the Conservative GLA representatives, which condemned the defacement of the wartime leader’s statue in Parliament Square. Garbett described how “non-violent direct action has always been a legitimate and necessary part of democratic political life”.

The police arrested Dutch national Caspar San Giorgio, 38, shortly after the Churchill statue was defaced with graffiti last week.

Other wording graffitied on the statue included the phrases “globalise the intifada” and “free Palestine”. San Giorgio now faces a criminal damage charge, which he is contesting.

Dutch group Free The Filton 24 claimed responsibility for the action, posting a video on Instagram appearing to show the incident in progress. Free The Filton 24 defines itself as a group of “family and friends” of the 24 Palestine Action activists who were charged over a break-in at one of Israel-based defence firm Elbit’s UK sites in 2024.

A speech made by a former student accused of supporting Hamas a day after its terrorists entered Israel was “not supportive” of the proscribed organisation and was not intended to be, her lawyer has told a court.

Hanin Barghouthi, 24, is accused of expressing an “opinion or belief” in support of the terror group during a speech at a rally in Brighton on 8 October 2023.

Jurors at Kingston Crown Court have previously been shown footage of the demonstration, in which Barghouthi can be heard telling the crowd that “yesterday was a victory” and was “beautiful and inspiring to see”.

At the same court on Monday, Michael Mansfield KC, representing the defendant, referred to her four-minute speech and said “what she says was not supportive of Hamas, objectively, and it wasn’t intended to be”.

He spoke of the defendant’s reference to “freedom fighters” and said she was speaking about “those amongst the Palestinian popu-

lation who are fighting for freedom”, adding that this was “not Hamas”.

He discussed her use of the words “beautiful and inspiring to see” and said she was not talking about Hamas but was referring to “a breakout”. Earlier in the trial, Barghouthi told jurors she had “not known” the full details of what had occurred on 7 October.

The trial continues.

Lords back proposal for new protest category

The House of Lords has backed a proposal to create a new legal category for violent protest groups, allowing them to be banned without labelling their supporters as terrorists, writes Lee Harpin.

The amendment, introduced by independent crossbencher and former Labour MP Lord Walney, would designate certain organisations as “extreme criminal protest groups” (ECPGs) under the Crime and Policing Bill.

The measure is intended for groups whose supporters engage in violent disorder, property damage or disruption of national  infrastructure.

As he introduced the measure, Lord Walney called the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 “divisive and controversial”.

He added: “The sight of people being arrested and charged for holding up signs is uncomfortable.”

Walney described his proposal as “an appropriately limited measure that can make a signifi-

cant di erence while completely preserving the right to protest and freedom of expression and  association”.

He said: “There are a range of views in this House and of course in the country over the proscription of Palestine Action.

“Whether it was right or wrong, it is undeniable that the measure and its impact has been divisive and it has been controversial.

“The sight of people being arrested and charged for holding up signs is uncomfortable whether or not you blame the law or the police or the protesters  themselves.”

He later told the Lords: “I would hazard there is not great public support or understanding for branding as ‘terrorist’ those whose methods are largely limited to the intimidation that

comes from criminal damage.”

Under the proposal, members or financial backers of ECPGs could face up to three years in prison and a fine, but people expressing support for such groups would not face criminal  penalties.

Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe described the amendment as “narrowly defined”, focused on intent to cause serious harm or influence public policy.

He urged ministers to consider the measure or something similar to address gaps in current  law.

Home O ce minister Lord Hanson opposed the proposal, arguing that existing legislation is su cient to deal with criminal protest groups and warning that a parallel regime to terrorism laws is unnecessary and could threaten free speech and association.

Despite government objections, the Lords passed the amendment by 200 votes to 162.

Police have been granted more time to question four men arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran on locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community.

It means the suspects, one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals, who were arrested under the National Security Act, can be held in custody until Friday.

The men, aged 22, 40, 52 and 55, were arrested at addresses in Harrow, Watford and Barnet shortly after 1am last Friday.

The Met said six other men, aged between 20 and 49, who were arrested at the same location in Harrow on suspicion of assisting an o ender, have been bailed pending further investigation.

One of the men was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police o cer, the force added.

The Met said on Saturday detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London have secured warrants of further detention.

Greens and Reform UK court Hackney Charedim

Senior Hackney Green Party ocials have held meetings with local strictly-Orthodox community representatives for discussions dominated by policy on planning rules ahead of May’s local elections, writes Lee Harpin.

In a statement, Hackney Greens told Jewish News they were “honoured to be invited” to speak with members of the Charedi community for “conversations on a broad number of topics” that the party says is “helping to inform our manifesto for the local election campaign”.

Other sources claim the community is being openly courted by London Assembly member Zoe Garbett, who is in the running to become Hackney mayor if the Greens perform well in May.

The 30,000-strong Charedi community in the borough is known to have become increasingly frustrated with the current Labourrun council, who have repeatedly stalled over adopting planning rules allowing overcrowded families to build extensions upwards in their homes, which particularly suits the needs of those with larger families.

The rules have already been adopted to great success in neighbouring Haringey, where the Charedi community have welcomed

the opportunity to add up to three more rooms to their homes.

Jewish News has spoken with members of Hackney’s Charedi community who say they are open to speaking to any political party willing to listen to their needs and demands.

One senior figure said they “did not care” about the Zack Polanski led party’s openly anti-Israel stance, and pointed out they were “voting

– revenge for the planning issues.”

But the same source warned that other members of the strictlyOrthodox community in the borough were “flocking to Reform UK, who are promising to stop all the woke education nonsense.”

Hackney Greens have been outspoken anti-Israel campaigners, regularly seeking to gain support on the ground that they oppose the alleged “genocide” in Gaza, and calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. They have also recently led calls for the council to end a twinning arrangement with the Israeli city of Haifa.

the Israeli city of Haifa.

and other new modern woke policies, which are not compatible with Charedi life.

“The community are looking at Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing Bill and other issues causing Charedi schools huge problems, including with VAT. These are the issues why some of the community is flocking to Reform.”

Labour currently holds a massive majority on the council, with 45 seats, while the Conservatives hold six and the Greens and Independents currently have just three each.

local matters that a ect the

in the local elections not on foreign policy but on local matters that a ect the community here.”

Another Stamford Hill-based Charedi figure said he believed “there is a real chance our local council mayor Caroline Woodley will be outvoted by a tactical campaign organised by Jewish voters to get the Green mayoral candidate elected as revenge

MIDDLE EAST RESCUE FLIGHTS TO BE PAUSED

British Airways has announced it will stop running rescue flights from the Middle East because of “reduced demand”, and has extended its suspension of operations in the rest of the region.

The airline has been running daily flights from Muscat in Oman to London’s Heathrow Airport since 5 March, following the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran strikes, in which Iran has also fired missiles at a number of neighbouring Arab states.

But the UK flag carrier said it will “pause” the flights after today’s final departure.

BA does not usually serve Muscat, but the capital emerged as a key location for tourists stranded in neighbouring countries because of the conflict. The Foreign O ce has not advised against travel to the area where the airport is located, unlike the advice for airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Muscat can be reached by road from Dubai and Abu Dhabi with journeys of about 300 miles.

BA said: “We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.

“Following these dates, flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under

continuous review.”

Airlines such as Emirates serving major Middle East hubs have been able to ramp up their operations in recent days, reducing the need for people to travel to Muscat.

BA also announced that suspension of flights to the rest of the Middle East will continue.

It said: “Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and air space instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region.

“We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.

“We’re keeping the situation under constant review and are in touch with our customers to o er them a range of options.”

Meanwhile, the Conservative Group

Meanwhile, the Conservative Group in Hackney is also facing its own challenge from Reform UK.

Jewish News understands senior rabbis from the Satmar community have been speaking to Reform over “education matters”.

But there has been a clear rise in support for the Greens in the borough. At the 2022 elections, the Green vote surged in areas like Stoke Newington, Dalston and Hackney Wick, and the party swiped the Stoke Newington ward seat from Labour in a 2024 by-election.

munity have been

One local source told Jewish News: “Reform is promising to stop all the woke nonsense in education, which for the Charedi community is more important than most other issues.

“The issue is R&S education

The last General Election also saw the Greens increase their vote share significantly in Hackney South and Shoreditch, where their candidate came close to 10,000 votes.

While they are certain to make significant gains, Labour is likely to retain most seats on the council. But the borough is one of five London authorities which elect a Mayor as the executive leader, as well as separate ward councillors.

Airport says sorry to Israeli author for 2024 treatment

Luton Airport has apologised and announced the institution of further training for its sta after an incident in which an Israeli author was approached by a member of airport sta who subsequently called the police to detain him.

In November 2024, Alon Penzel, who compiled firstperson testimonies of the Hamas mass-terror attack in a book called Testimonies without boundaries: Israel: October 7th 2023, was returning from a visit to the UK. He had cleared security at Luton airport for his return trip when he was approached by a member of airport sta .

As Penzel told Times of Israel, he had been carrying a placard promoting his book,which had been too large to fit in his luggage. He told the paper that sta er described 7 October as “only one incident

since the illegal occupation began” and warned the sign could be “considered o ensive to passengers in the airport.”

Penzel said airport security and police o cers were then called, taking his placard and passport and questioning him aggressively, before ultimately letting him go.

The Israeli subsequently initiated legal proceedings against the airport, assisted

by the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) organisation.

As reported by UKLFI, last month the airport wrote to Penzel o ering a “sincere and unreserved apology” and saying “enhanced training for sta ” had been introduced. UKLFI also said they had been told the sta er no longer worked at the Airport.

Penzel welcomed the apology, saying “I hope what happened to me will lead to greater awareness and sensitivity going forward.”

In a public statement, however, the airport o ered a less categorical apology, saying: “Whilst we do not accept every aspect of Mr Penzel’s complaint, we recognise that there were elements of this interaction that did not fully meet our high customer service standards we strive to deliver, and for that we apologise.”

THE PINSKER CENTRE CELEBRATES TEN YEARS THE PINSKER CENTRE CELEBRATES TEN YEARS

This year, The Pinsker Centre celebrates a decade of empowering young people, shaping the debate on campus, and strengthening democratic conversation.

Thank you to our supporters, partners, and community for being part of the journey.

Police ‘determined’ to learn from fan ban row CPS LOSES TRIAL APPEAL

The head of West Midlands Police has reiterated his commitment to learning lessons from the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban row – as he confirmed o cers’ use of Copilot AI tool remains under a temporary suspension, writes Joy Falk.

As acting chief constable, Scott Green issued a “full and sincere” apology in January for failings identified by the chief inspector of constabulary, including an “AI hallucination” contained in a police report submitted to Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

Maccabi supporters were barred from travelling to a Europa League game at Villa Park in November, following an SAG decision which cited safety concerns based on a report prepared by the West Midlands force.

The chief inspector of constabulary’s review, published two days before the retirement of former chief constable Craig Guildford, found eight “inaccuracies” in the police report on the ban and said it had overstated Maccabi supporters’ role in disorder in Amsterdam in 2024.

The inaccuracies included reference to a non-existent game between Maccabi and West Ham, said to have been produced by AI.

Now confirmed in the chief constable role and in his first interviews since taking over from Guildford, Green said among his first steps was

making an immediate voluntary referral to the independent police conduct o ce on the o cers and sta in the Maccabi decision.

A recovery plan, Operation Strive, has been launched “to make sure all necessary lessons from the planning and policing of the fixture were learned”, Green added.

Within his first week, he also met a number

of members of the community, particularly the Jewish community, and spent time at an iftar event listening to the Muslim community.

He noted there were two ongoing inquiries into the Maccabi incident and “I do need to be careful what I say”.

“What I’m clear on, though, is that the force should have engaged with communities more in the run-up to the decision-making, and we should have been more precise with our use of intelligence. I am absolutely determined that the force will learn its lessons from it.”

He said of the AI-powered Copilot assistant: “I took the decision within my first day to turn it o . It was a limited pilot.

“We’re still scoping some of the lessons that are being learned, and until in particular the Independent O ce of Police Conduct have given their view on it, we’re going to leave it switched o for the time being.

“What I’m clear on, though, is that artificial intelligence, AI, forms part of all of our lives. It will form a part of all of our working lives.

“We do actually already use AI in some of our call-handling functions in the way that it manages calls. It’s just the Copilot bit that we’ve switched o . We will be turning it back on... we’re just being cautious at this moment.”

rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh will not face a terror trial after judges at the High Court rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal against the decision to throw out the case.

The rapper, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.

But the case was thrown out in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed against the decision at the High Court at a hearing in January, with the Kneecap rapper opposing the appeal.

In a judgment on Wednesday, two judges at the High Court upheld the decision and dismissed the CPS appeal.

O hAnnaidh said: “I owe eternal gratitude to my legal team, who left no stone unturned

‘Less oy, more joy!’ It’s Jewish Culture Month NUS

A range of top cultural institutions including the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate and the V&A South Kensington are set to take part in the UK’s first Jewish Culture Month, writes Joy Falk.

Launched by the Board of Deputies, it will feature more than 100 events between Saturday 16 May and Tuesday 16 June – the Jewish month of Sivan.

Participating venues, which also include the British Library, the Freud Museum and the London Archives, are not limited to the capital – other institutions taking part include the Manchester Museum, the Whitworth, the Museum of Liverpool and the Bodleian libraries, as well as locations in cities including Norwich, Brighton and Nottingham.

The month will include talks, workshops, tours and screenings and has received the backing of secretary of state for culture, media and sport Lisa Nandy, who said she was “looking forward to its success among people of all faiths and communities”.

The idea of a Jewish Culture Month has been a longstanding pledge from

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg, who has spoken regularly about his desire for “less oy and more joy”.

He described how the forthcoming line-up of events over the month would “celebrate the contribution made by Jews across the UK… after a few di cult years for the Jewish community”.

He added: “We want both Jewish people and our friends and neighbours of di erent faiths and beliefs to experi-

ence all the light, creativity and laughter of Jewish life in the UK.”

V&A director Sir Tristram Hunt said: “As one of the world’s leading museums of art, design and performance, the V&A is a proud participant in the inaugural Jewish Culture Month.

“We look forward to welcoming people to our events and displays, celebrating the rich and unique history of British Jewish culture.”

Jewish actress Tracy Ann Oberman said: “The UK Jewish community has given so much to art and culture in the UK. This month-long celebration will be a wonderful opportunity to share some of our greatest hits. I hope the initiative only grows and grows.”

The Board last year hired Liat Rosenthal, a former curator at the Tate Modern, to be the director of Jewish Culture Month.

Rosenthal described how the fourweek programme “will showcase the richness and diversity of Jewish culture in all its forms”.

For full details, check out the website at jewishculturemonth.org.uk

CANDIDATE IN REPOST PROBE

A candidate in the upcoming elections for the National Union of Students (NUS) has come under scrutiny after reposting a social media thread containing antisemitic conspiracy claims.

Nasir Mohammed, president of City St George’s Students’ Union, is standing as a candidate for vice-president for higher education.

Screenshots show him reposting the opening message of a thread on X by another user.

It includes claims alleging Israel was responsible for major global events and promotes conspiracy theories involving the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the Rothschild family.

One post in the thread states: “Iran didn’t kill JFK. Iran didn’t do 9/11. Iran didn’t employ Epstein. Iran didn’t attack the USS Liberty. Iran didn’t steal nukes from America. Iran didn’t

tell Americans that Iraq had WMDs. Iran didn’t commit a genocide in Palestine. Israel did.”

Another post claims: “This is the power of Israeli Mossad’s Epstein Blackmail network & Rothschild’s desire to install their aligned central banking. Presidents are puppets!” Mohammed shared the first post of the thread on his account.

Responding, Union of Jewish Students (UJS) president Louis Danker said: “We think the candidates calling themselves the ‘Do Better NUS’ slate may need a little self-reflection.

“Nasir has reposted virulent antisemitism, and Jewish students have lost all confidence in his candidacy.”

In a statement posted on Instagram, Mohammed said he had shared the first slide of the thread without reading the rest of the posts and “antisemitism is a scourge”.

Independent review into school antisemitism

The government has announced an independent review into how schools and colleges identify and prevent antisemitism, to be led by former permanent secretary at the Department for Education Sir David Bell, writes Lee Harpin.

The review will gather input from “headteachers, community groups and religious representatives in a call for evidence from spring,” with final recommendations due by autumn.

Education Secretary Bridget

Phillipson highlighted the urgency, stating: “The figures are stark and clear – school-related antisemitic incidents remain double pre2023 levels, and too many Jewish teachers who raised concerns felt that nothing was done. That is not acceptable.”

She added: “This review will help to ensure schools and colleges have the confidence and support to tackle antisemitism.”

Sir David said he was pleased to have been asked to undertake what

he called “this vital work”, adding: “Antisemitism is a scourge, and no child or young person or teacher should be subject to it, not least when attending school or college.”

The government says the review will examine current prevention efforts, how incidents are handled and the influence of “external campaigners in influencing school and college decision-making”.

According to the Community Security Trust, there were 204 school-related antisemitic inci-

dents in 2025, double the levels typically reported before 2023.

The announcement also referenced a recent Ofsted inspection at a Bristol school after Jewish MP Damien Egan was reportedly prevented from visiting.

Ofsted said it had concerns the visit may have been postponed due to “coordinated pressures from staff and external groups,” but inspectors “found no evidence to substantiate concerns of political bias at the school after visiting”.

JFS PUPILS HIT BY ‘DIRTY JEW’ AND ‘GAS CHAMBER’ CHANTS

JFS pupils were subjected to antisemitic chants during an under-15 football match held near Norwich, with reports that spectators shouted abuse including “go back to the gas chambers” and “dirty Jew”, writes Daniel Sugarman.

The Telegraph said specta-

tors at the match between JFS and Thorpe St Andrew School also yelled “Zionists. Dirty Zionists”, with a mixed-race JFS player being targeted with the slur “N-word Jew”.

Norfolk police and the English Schools Football Association later confirmed they had

received reports of the abuse and were investigating.

One JFS player described how he “left the match feeling shocked, ashamed and really hurt by what was said from the other side.”

Another said of the incident: “I felt targeted and

threatened because of my Judaism ... it left me feeling disgraced and worried about what else might happen.”

JFS later wrote to parents describing “unacceptable” behaviour by spectators at the match, and confirming the school was collecting state-

ments from all students present at the game, whom they said “should never have had to put up with the abuse that was thrown at them”.

JFS lost the quarter-final match 4-1, but there have been calls for Thorpe St Andrew to be disqualified.

Mind and Body: The Art of Healing

The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) invites you to an exclusive cocktail evening supporting GEFFEN: The National Trauma Center and the development of the new Trauma Center for Victims of Terror at Tel Aviv Sourasky University Medical Center.

Dr. Oren Tene, Head of the Psychiatric Division, will be joined by a returning hostage from October 7th. Guests will also experience the works of Israeli artist Yoel Benharrouche and a culinary presentation by Michelin-starred Chef Assaf Granit.

March 25, 2026

Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Central London (location shared upon registration)

Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres (kosher) | Attire: Art Gallery Chic

For adults with learning disabilities in your community

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“For those concerned about this growing problem - and everyone should beOctober 8 is mandatory viewing.”

The Hollywood Reporter

“...the film forcefully rebuts the outrageous accusation that Israel, because of its own actions, was entirely responsible for the Hamas attack.”

The Washington Post

“2025’s Most Important Documentary.”

Hollywood in Toto

The digital battlefield: AI fakes swamping social media

UK charity Full Fact says dozens of misleading posts have posted online since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, writes Annabel Sinclair.

Researchers identified at least 20 widely shared false or misleading images and videos linked to the conflict, warning they represent only a fraction of the material circulating online.

Separate analysis by BBC Verify found AI-generated footage and fabricated satellite imagery have attracted millions of views.

Much of the misinformation involves older footage being reposted with claims it shows new scenes from the current fighting.

One widely shared clip claiming to show an Iranian missile strike on Dubai dates back to at least October 2024, according to Full Fact. Another video which attracted more than 180,000 views on Instagram, claimed to show a US airbase in Saudi Arabia “burnt to ashes”.

In reality, the footage shows the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on the Yemeni port of Hudaydah in July 2024.

In another example, a video showing explosions near a building circulated on social media with claims it depicted an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv. The footage actually dates from 2015 and shows explosions at a warehouse in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

Fact-checkers say the same clip was previously misused during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, again falsely presented as footage from a different conflict.

Alongside recycled video, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to generate entirely fabricated images linked to the war.

Among the examples identified by researchers is an image appearing to show Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in flames. The picture carries a SynthID watermark, indicating it was created or altered using Google’s AI technology.

Another widely shared image claimed to show the body of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei partially buried under rubble fol-

lowing recent strikes. Fact-checkers say the image also contains a SynthID watermark as well as visual inconsistencies indicate it too was generated using AI.

BBC Verify has also identified fake satellite images circulating online. One image shared on X by the state-linked newspaper The Tehran Times claimed to show extensive damage to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain following Iranian strikes.

Analysts found the image appeared to be based on a genuine satellite photograph of the base taken in February 2025, with identical vehicles visible in the same positions – indicating the scene had been digitally manipulated.

Experts say the rapid spread of synthetic war imagery reflects how easy generative AI tools have made it to create convincing conflict footage. “What used to require professional video production can now be done in minutes with AI tools. The barrier to creating convincing synthetic conflict footage has essentially collapsed,” said Timothy Graham, a digital media expert at Queensland University of Technology.

Generative AI specialist Henry Ajder said the number of tools capable of producing highly realistic manipulated images and videos is now “unprecedented”.

False political claims have also circulated alongside manipulated imagery with posts shared on X and Facebook alleging Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had observed a minute’s silence to mark Khamenei’s death.

Full Fact said the claim is incorrect. After contacting the Home Office, officials confirmed Mahmood had not taken part in any such tribute. The photograph shared alongside the claim comes from a visit she made to a mosque in Southport in 2024.

Fact-checkers say misleading images and videos often spread most rapidly during fastmoving international crises, when dramatic footage is widely shared before it can be verified.

Royal Albert Hall to host 9/11 conspiracist

The Royal Albert Hall has defended its decision to host an Egyptian-American comedian who has shared claims Israel “uses kids to sexually blackmail people”, kidnaps Yemenite Jews to plant “Semitic DNA” into the Israeli gene pool and bombed its own UK embassy.

The venue says it “has no reason to believe this show will contain antisemitic material”.

Bassem Youssef is known as a vocal critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and regularly shares and promotes conspiracy theories about Israelis and “Zionists” on social media.

Jewish News presented the Royal Albert Hall with these and other examples, most posted by Youssef last year.

The venue responded: “The Hall has been booked by Bassem Youssef’s promoter to host a new stand-up show on its global tour which opens in the US on 20 March.

"We have been told that the show contains new material reflecting on global politics, cul-

tural identity, media narratives and his own experiences, and follows his world tour in 2024. We currently have no reason to believe that this show will contain any antisemitic material, but we would certainly take appropriate action if it did (as we would with any event containing racist material).”

The Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council, CST and Campaign Against Antisemitism all spoke out against Youssef and the venue for booking him.

The Board said: “We are deeply concerned that this individual has been given a prestigious platform at the Royal Albert Hall. Our leading cultural institutions have a duty to not platform those who normalise extremism, conspiracism, and division.”

Youssef has repeatedly denied being an antisemite, usually via the rhetorical device of describing himself, an Egyptian Arab, as a Semite, and asking how he can be ‘anti’ himself.

Acknowledging this, Full Fact warned the examples it has identified so far are “just the tip of the iceberg”, with verification experts around the world continuing to flag hundreds if not thousands of examples of misleading or fabricated imagery linked to the conflict.

Researchers have also warned some social media creators are financially incentivised to

post sensational AI-generated war footage, as platforms reward highly viewed posts with advertising or engagement payments.

The charity is urging social media users to rely on trusted sources and verify the origin of images and videos before sharing them online, warning misinformation during conflict can quickly spread and inflame tensions.

Jewish Care unveils ambitious plan to double support by 2031

Jewish Care aims to raise £100m in donations to fulfil an ambitious five-year plan to double the number of people it reaches by 2031, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The organisation’s new strategy, Altogether Stronger, is the result of hundreds of conversations across the Jewish community as well as within the charity itself.

Jewish Care consulted service users across care homes, community centres and mental health services, had discussions with donors, partner organisations and leaders across the Jewish community and reviewed independent data analysis on ageing, dementia, mental health and philanthropy trends, all of which fed into the new strategy.

Summing up the core of the plan, Jewish Care life president Lord Levy said: “We will lead in three critical areas: dementia care, mental health support and end-of-life care, and reach as many as one in five in the Jewish community through families

and carers. We will also ensure longterm sustainability through innovation, technology, strong estates and engaging supporters across generations. To do all this we need to raise £100m in voluntary donations.”

Chief executive Daniel CarmelBrown added: “This expanding of our community services is in response to our ageing Jewish community who have more complex needs.

“By 2031, one in five people in Britain will be over 65 and many more people are choosing to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

“We are seeing a rising number of people living with dementia and 26 percent of our community now experience mental health challenges, facing loneliness and isolation. Younger people are asking for earlier mental health support. Families are balancing care, work and financial pressures. At the same time, Jewish identity is more diverse and expressed in many different ways.

“Growing antisemitism means our Jewish community services are even more important to help people feel supported and connected to their personal identity and community.”

Expanding on the charity’s mission for 2026-2030, Jewish Care chair Marcus Sperber said: “The need for care, connection and com-

munity has never been greater. That is the driving force behind this new strategy. Altogether Stronger sets out how we will reach more people in the Jewish community so they can live with dignity, purpose and connection – and receive the care and support they need at every stage of life.

Highlighting the importance

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of Jewish Care across the community, Sheila, a member of The Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia, said: “I love it. The staff and volunteers are kind, welcoming and motivated to give us a good time. I feel very special when I am here because of them all.”

Sean, of The Zalman and Ruchi Noé Centre at the Sandringham care campus, added: “If the place wasn’t here, it would be a lot of people missing friendship, which to older people like myself is very important.”

John, a Jami client, said: “If it wasn’t for Jami, I probably wouldn’t be alive today. Jami’s peer support workers have listened, helped and been a comfort. But, most of all, it has given me hope for life, for the future and to my family that I’ll be around for many more years to come.”

Jewish Care, which came together with mental health charity Jami in 2023, is the largest health and social care charity for the Jewish community in London and the southeast.

Race against time to find stem cell match for gran

Three siblings are appealing to the Jewish community to take a simple cheek swab to see if they could be a stem cell match for their 71-yearold mother who has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Daphne Goldberg, a grandmother of four, was diagnosed with Myeloproliferative Neoplasm in 2025. Her condition worsened in November, with doctors now giving her about two years to live.

Her children and brother have been tested, but no viable match has been found. With her only chance being a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor, her son A J Goldberg and two younger sisters Chloe and Romy are in a race against time to find a match.

Speaking to Jewish News, 40-year-old father of two A J, from Toronto, said: “We’re going out to the community at large, every-

where in the world to try and appeal to people to just swab their cheek. It’s very simple and takes a minute.”

Having undertaken “hours and hours of research” on their mother’s history and family tree, he added the likely match will be an Ashkenazi Jew.

“Our family comes from Romania, Hungary, Austria, Lithuania and Poland. So we’re talking on a global scale; we want everybody to swab,” he continued.

“A lot of other people need stem cells because the test applies to 88 other diseases that are all through genetics. So if you can, you might as well swab your cheek.

“She’s everybody’s best friend,” says A J. “She will talk to people for hours. She walks into a room and everyone knows her.

“She gives everybody the time of day. Every single person at the office is somebody that my mom

knows intimately. She knows their whole life story. She just is one of those curious, warm people that loves to just chat.”

Local swabbing events are being organised in the UK, with the Goldberg family asking volunteers aged 16-55 and in general good health to join a potential donor registry and fill out a small questionnaire.

After that, they will receive a free cheek-swabbing kit to complete and return. This takes 20 seconds and could save a life.”

Blood cancer charity DKMS spokesperson Deborah Hyde said: “Joining the stem cell donor register is quick and easy – just some painless mouth swabs and a few health questions.

“You’ll be joining a worldwide chain of hope for people like Daphne. For them, a stem cell transplant means a second chance at life and more time with loved ones.”

The Board of Deputies has elected Karen Newman a vice-president, meaning the organisation no longer has an all-male senior leadership.

The election of Liberal Judaism immediate past chair Newman saw her poll 119 votes against the only other candidate, Sheila Gewolb, who polled 104.

Congratulating Newman, Board president Phil Rosenberg described her as having “both the expertise and experience to make an incredibly valuable contribution as we represent British Jews through turbulent times and pursue a brighter future for the UK Jewish community.

“My thanks also go to Sheila who fought an excellent campaign. I am delighted that she too will continue to serve in our leadership

The Jewish Deaf Association (JDA) has reported the highest level of demand in its history, with the number of people it supports almost doubling in just one year, writes Annabel Sinclair.

Marking World Hearing Day, the specialist charity says it supported 4,829 people in 2025 – a 93 percent rise on the previous year and far ahead of previous years.

JDA in 2025 supported 196 people from hearing families with deaf babies and children, delivered hearing and home-based support to 130 people, and provided intensive ongoing care to 212 vulnerable individuals.

The surge has also driven up costs. JDA’s annual expenditure rose from around £910,000 in 2022 to nearly £1.3m in 2024.

Through its training and consultancy

in her role as chair of the Board’s regional council.”

The 2024 Board triennial elections marked the first time in more than a decade the organisation’s leadership team, elected by fellow Deputies, was all male. In the months following the 2024 election, the Board elected female vicechairs for all its work divisions.

For the past 18 months Newman has served as co-chair of the Board’s plenary meetings, having served on the constitution committee and both finance and security and resilience & cohesion divisions.

As well as being the sole woman on the leadership team, Newman is now the senior team’s only Progressive Judaism and LGBT+ representative.

work, JDA trained 242 professionals working in community welfare organisations and supported a further 192 care home and domiciliary workers, extending specialist deaf awareness across the community.

JDA chief executive Sue Cipin said the figures highlight both rising need and JDA’s responsibility to ensure Jewish deaf people do not feel isolated or marginalised.

“With one in three people now living with hearing loss, we are seeing record levels of demand for our services, with more people and families needing help than ever before

“As hearing loss continues to rise, awareness and outreach are essential to ensuring hearing loss is identified early, and no one is left feeling isolated or overlooked.”

CYPRUS: A seafront haven with Jewish heart

For Jewish families considering a holiday home that is both a lifestyle upgrade and a strategic investment, Cyprus is one of the most compelling destinations in Europe.

The reasons are practical, emotional and financial — and increasingly urgent.

Geographically, Cyprus is perfect. Just over four hours from the UK, the proximity makes ownership easily accessible. A weekend, a school holiday escape, or an extended summer stay becomes entirely manageable.

But it is not only about distance. Cyprus has shown itself to be openly supportive of Israel and the Jewish community. Arriving at Larnaca airport after October 7, Jewish visitors saw the airport road lined with hostage posters - a visible expression of solidarity. In December, “Happy Chanukah” signs have become a fixture. For many Jewish buyers, that atmosphere of public support and warmth matters deeply, and with Israel just a 40-minute flight away, it remains a popular choice for Israelis.

Familiar yet Mediterranean lifestyle

For British buyers in particular, Cyprus feels reassuringly similar to home. It is an island nation, drives on the left, and uses the same threepin electrical plugs and sockets as the UK. English is widely spoken, and a large British community already lives there.

At the same time, Cyprus offers everything one expects from the Mediterranean: long summers, seafront promenades, outdoor cafés and a relaxed rhythm of life.

EU Residency: a post-Brexit advantage

One of the strongest drivers behind the current surge in interest is residency. Purchasing a new property above €300,000 entitles buyers to apply for permanent EU residency status.

In a post-Brexit landscape, that is an opportunity.that provides families with mobility, flexibility and a European foothold that may prove invaluable for future generations. Importantly, buyers are supported throughout the legal process, making the pathway to residency structured and manageable.

Strong returns, Rising values

Financially, Cyprus is experiencing significant momentum with development happening at an unprecedented scale. Many industry insiders believe this may be the last opportunity to secure brand-new seafront property, as coastal land is becoming increasingly scarce. Returns mirror those seen in the UK, but short-stay rentals can deliver a stronger performance.

Managed properly, yields can climb into double-digit percentages. So owners can enjoy unrestricted personal use of their property while generating income through short-term lets. In 2025, Cyprus was also ranked by CompareTheMarket. com as the world’s best country for buying a holiday home Properties can start from approximately €165,000, rising into the millions depending on size, specification and proximity to the sea. Options range from city-centre apartments to luxury beachfront villas.

Jewish life in Paphos

For observant and community-oriented buyers, Paphos has an active synagogue and a growing Jewish community. Kosher services are available, including catered kosher meals, Shabbat hot plates and even fully kosher accommodation options for visitors.

What Matters Most

Three factors consistently shape purchasing decisions.

First, freedom of use. A privately owned holiday home removes booking restrictions and offers flexibility.

Second, EU permanent residency eligibility when purchasing qualifying new properties above €300,000.

Third, accessibility —easy connections to the UK.

Full-Service Support

VICHY Holidays, a Jewish-run local property management company in Cyprus, works directly with developers, law firms and accounting professionals. They assist with

sourcing, negotiation, legal processes, banking support, property management and transparent monthly reporting. For investors, having experienced representatives on the ground provides reassurance at every stage.

In a world where stability, connection and opportunity are prized, Cyprus offers something both rare and unmissable.

Come and meet the experts and exclusive, event-only property opportunities at: THE CYPRUS PROPERTY INVESTMENT EVENT 22 March 2026

10am-3pm NW3 London Free to attend

JW3 padlocks transformed into 7/10 memorial

by Michelle Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.co.uk

The Lovelock Hostage Bridge at JW3 is being transformed into a permanent five-foot tall padlock sculpture dedicated to victims and survivors of 7 October 2023.

Originally populated with padlocks inscribed with the names of Israel’s hostages to keep them in the public consciousness, the bridge installation at Finchley Road opened in February 2024.

The brainchild of project creator Marcel Knobil, the bridge railings swiftly became crammed with thousands more locks, added by celebrities including Sir Simon Schama and Maureen Lipman, together with members of the public determined to express their solidarity with hostage families and their loved ones.

With the return of the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, on 26 January, Knobil has now commissioned renowned porcelain sculpture artist, Sandra Shashou, to take every padlock and repurpose them into a tower as a lasting

memorial. Sitting on the bridge, wrapped up in hat, scarf and gloves, surrounded by hundreds of padlocks, a metal cylinder “that’s been dug down and fastened to the ground below”, metal rings and a very large cup of tea, Shashou explained she “usually works with vintage tea-ware but recently has been stacking them and creating towers. So when Marcel had a tower in mind here, he thought I would be the right person, especially because I work with multiples of things.”

Describing her process as “placing the padlocks with intent”, Shashou will incorporate yellow ribbons and the now rusty keys into the installation, describing it as “very human and imperfect” with “an organic feel to it.”

With the entire process expected to take up to two weeks, she adds: “It’s a great honour to be doing this. It makes me feel I can make a tribute to the hostages, that they won’t be forgotten and there will be something here for them permanently.”

Project creator Marcel Knobil said: “The Lovelock Hostage Bridge Tribute is being created from padlocks which thou-

sands of people lovingly attached to the Bridge in support of the hostages. It will prove a magnificent testimonial to those that perished and to the courage and inspirational spirit of the survivors.”

JW3’s Raymond Simonson added: “Our Lovelock Hostage Bridge gave people a way to turn heartbreak into action, and that is why it resonated so deeply. It began as a simple invitation to those who needed a way to express love and anguish together.

Over 18 months, more than 5,000 locks were added by people from across the community and beyond, showing love, solidarity and hope for the hostages and their families.

“At JW3 we witnessed thousands of deeply personal acts, each one small on its own, yet together creating something powerful and visible. This new sculpture, created by Sandra using hundreds of those original locks, ensures that the spirit of that collective action endures. It is not only a tribute to the hostages and their families, but also a lasting reminder of what can happen when community comes together with purpose and compassion.”

PHOTOGRAPHY, AND JEWISH MEMORY

An evocative evening of Jewish memory through art and photography, featuring a special workshop on Mayer Kirshenblatt’s shtetl of Opatów (known as Apt in Yiddish) and photographic works by guest speaker and photojournalist Lewis James Phillips.

Curated session on the works of Mayer Kirshenblatt based on the original exhibition at POLIN Museum, Warsaw, designed by the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning, with the support of the AEPJ.

DATE & TIME:

26 APR 6.30 - 10 PM

ADDRESS: NORTH LONDON NW11

DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED ON REGISTRATION

PRICE: £25 general admission

£20 concessions

£15 under 25s

Light buffet supper and non-alcoholic drinks included in the ticket price.

Pride and doubt jostle on a narrow bridge

JOSH GLANCY ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE SUNDAY TIMES

All the world is a very … a very narrow bridge, a very narrow bridge, a very narrow bridge. But the main thing, to recall, is to have no, have no fear at all …”

Many of you, like me, will associate those words, originally written by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, with ruach-filled, sugar-infused afternoons at synagogue or summer camp. The tune will immediately suggest itself. Perhaps you’ll recall the hand movements too, depending on which camp you went on. It’s a powerful metaphor. Like a slender bridge over a high canyon, life is precarious and often downright frightening. But there is a path to the other side; you can cross, if you have courage and faith. It reminds me of that other most resonant of Jewish metaphors: the fragility of being a fiddler on the roof.

I shivered with recognition when I saw a group of young Israelis dressed in Purim garb, singing Rabbi Nachman’s words in Hebrew as they took refuge from ballistic Iranian missiles in an underground Tel Aviv car park.

When I first sang that song, in a children’s service at shul, or sitting in a Welsh field, I forget exactly where, it seemed distant and vague. Of course all life is fragile, but in truth few lives were less precarious than that of a middle class boy from Hampstead growing up at the end of history. I could never have envisaged some of the things I’ve seen in the last few weeks. This world didn’t exist in my imagination. Today we are truly on the narrow bridge. Have no fear at all? I have little else! I fear the outcome of an epochal war that Israel has helped will into being. Benjamin Netanyahu has made a gamble of world-changing proportions. If it succeeds, whatever that looks like, then he may trample on his doubters and

claim his place as a modern David. If it fails? If Israel is caught up in and blamed for a spiralling conflict that brings calamity upon the region and the world? I dread to think.

The legality of this war is one question of course. The morality, another. Both are highly debatable. But at times I also question the sanity of what is unfolding.

We have entered the “you can just do things” era of geopolitics. Actions that were for decades deemed unimaginably risky are now just happening. Wipe out Hezbollah top to bottom. Pound Fordow with bunker busters. Then eviscerate the Ayatollah and launch a full-scale war on the Iranian regime.

I experienced a kind of out-of-body dislocation two weekends ago, as I was pottering about in B&Q getting some wood cut for a new kitchen worktop, when I checked my phone and discovered that the IDF had dropped 30 bombs on its mortal enemy’s head.

What do I think of this war? I change my mind minute by minute. I hold five thoughts

at once. I take di erent sides of the same debate. I don’t really know, if I’m honest. Now that it has begun, I pray it ends with a quick and clean victory. But I also think it’s reckless and callous to launch a war such as this without even pretending to know how it might end and how many may die.

I think the Iranian regime has devoted decades to funding the murder of Jews and the dismantling of Israel and promoting death to America and that such actions have consequences. I think that when the history books are written, this stage of the conflict will look all but inevitable from the moment the fences protecting the Gaza envelope were breached on 7 October 2023.

I think Netanyahu has shown courage and willingness to act and that Israel’s soldiers and pilots fight with astonishing fortitude. But I also worry that this forever prime minister is drunk on power and has talked himself into being a latter-day Churchill, when he could instead end up more like Xerxes, wreaking havoc and sowing pain in

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pursuit of an unachievable destiny. I fret over what Israel has become, the warping e ects of war after war. And yet also I admire its willingness to fight its enemies and refusal to accept the declinist pusillanimity of Europe for itself. I feel pride. Anguish. Dread.

I worry, as I always must, about how it all a ects us in the diaspora, as the Green Party surges in the polls here and criticism of Israel reaches a new pitch in the US. This war is not popular in America and is not supported by the British government. If it goes badly awry, much of the limited goodwill that remains towards Israel and the Jews post-Gaza may simply evanesce. I say post-Gaza, but that story is not over yet either, of course.

In my lifetime at least, Israel has never looked more militarily powerful, pounding its enemies into submission in Tehran and now Beirut, fighting alongside the awesome might of its American ally.

And yet the Jewish reality has rarely felt more frightening and precarious.

Perhaps this terror is my own choice. Scholars have pointed out that in his original wording, Rabbi Nachman wrote “She’lo yitpached klal” – he shouldn’t make himself fear at all, rather than “lo l’fached klal” –he should have no fear at all. The original phrasing is reflexive, meaning the fear is something that one does to oneself.

The bridge is narrow, Nachman assures us, but it runs all the way to the other side. Or so we must hope.

‘Don’t worry, dear... the boat will be setting off any day now!’

Mrs Mamdani ‘liked’ 7 October,

then the NYT called it a ‘cause’

The First Lady of New York gave a thumbs-up to the bloodiest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Let’s bin the euphemisms. Let’s quit all the polite blather about her “controversial” socialmedia activity. We need to speak plainly.

Rama Duwaji, the American-Syrian artist who is married to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, expressed approval over the slaughter of Jews in the Holy Land.

Her “likes” on social media have come to light over the past week, and they are genuinely chilling.

On 7 October itself, as innocents were being raped and murdered by the monsters of Hamas, she liked posts on Instagram that cheered on that historic atrocity.

She gave a thumbs-up to a post showing Gazans breaching Israel’s border fence and said how these invaders were “breaking the walls of apartheid”.

She approved a post showing Palestinians sitting on a captured IDF vehicle with the caption “Resisting apartheid since 1948”.

She liked a post from the radical left group calling on New Yorkers to hit the streets the following day to show their support for “Palestinian resistance”.

Think about this: Israel had just suffered its worst-ever terror attack. An army of antisemites had savagely laid waste to 1,200 lives inside Israel.

And here was the future First Lady of New York agreeing that people should go out and salute this act of “resistance”.

To my mind, gathering to celebrate 7 October is as repulsive as it would have been to pour on to the streets after Kristallnacht to gloat and cheer.

Some will say Ms Duwaji could not have known the full details of Hamas’s barbarism on that day. It took a while for the full scale of their fascistic assault to become clear.

Not so fast.

Even months later, when we all knew all about Hamas’s crimes, she was engaging in 7 October apologism.

According to The Free Press, in February 2024 she liked an Instagram post that described Hamas’s rapes as a “hoax”.

The post slammed The New York Times for publishing an in-depth feature on Hamas’s sexual crimes, saying the paper had “fabricated” this tale of “mass rape”.

Duwaji digitally nodded along to this vile expression of rape denialism.

Remember when the slogan of progressives was “Believe Women”?

In the MeToo era, we were told that every report of sexual assault should be treated

WHEN A PUBLIC FIGURE IS SHOWN TO BE BLASÉ ABOUT THE MURDER OF JEWS, THE LEFT SHRUGS

sensitively, and with good faith. That ended on 8 October 2023. That’s the day the left went from saying “Believe Women” to “Believe Fascists”. They chose to believe the Hamas brutes who denied raping women rather than the young Israelis who witnessed their misogynistic atrocities.

The twisted irony is that Ms Duwaji’s art often focuses on the plight of women, especially in the Middle East.

And yet here she supported the inhuman denial of Israeli women’s experiences on 7 October. MeToo – unless you’re a Jew.

Then there’s the media response to the revelations about Duwaji. This has been nauseating too.

The “liberal” press has downplayed her 7 October apologism. The New York Times said she merely expressed “support for the Palestinian cause”.

Actually she expressed support for the barbarous invasion of the Jewish State. And for the denial of anti-Jewish atrocities. Be honest, NYT

Much of the media has sympathised with Mamdani’s insistence that his wife is a “private person” and should be left alone.

The satirical website The Babylon Bee summed up the madness of this with its mocking headline: “Mamdani Clarifies That His Wife Only Celebrates Terrorism In Her Capacity As A Private Citizen.”

Imagine if a First Lady had liked posts celebrating the invasion of an Islamic country by an army of avowed Muslim-haters who raped and slaughtered people whose only “crime” is that they were Muslim.

Do you think the left would have been as understanding as it has been towards Ms Duwaji? Not a chance. They’d be protesting outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s o cial residence in New York. “Cancel her”, the mob would holler.

That’s what this story is really about: the staggering double standards of modern-day progressives.

They see racism everywhere. They love nothing more than to cancel the unwoke. Yet when a public figure is shown to have been sickeningly blasé about the murder of Jews, they shrug and say: “Meh.”

Jews don’t matter a damn to the right-on.

Opinion

Making the case for regime change in Iran

JEREMY HAVARDI

JOURNALIST & AUTHOR

Ever since the US and Israel started bombing the Iranian regime almost two weeks ago, the voices of condemnation have been ratcheting up. Charges of illegality have come thick and fast from across the world, with diatribes from many of the usual suspects (Vladimir Putin, the UN secretary general, Pakistan, Brazil and Turkey) as well as an array of populist politicians from the left.

Labour MP Richard Burgon slammed "an illegal act of aggression which makes the world less safe", while for Green Party leader Zack Polanski, this was "an illegal and unprovoked attack" which showed that the US and Israel were "rogue states". Meanwhile, America’s far-left "squad" voted against reaffirming Iran as the "largest state sponsor of terrorism", having already lashed out at the president for his "illegal regime change war". This is puerile posturing masquerading as serious political analysis.

JThe war being pursued by America and Israel is both legally and politically justified, even if questions remain about the long-term strategy. Both America and Israel can claim the right to self-defence in the face of blatant Iranian aggression, a right safeguarded under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Neither country requires the approval of Russia and China to defend itself from attack, not that such permission would be granted if they did ask.

In Israel’s case, the arguments are even more straightforward. Israel has been in a state of war with Iran since at least 13 April 2024, when Tehran launched waves of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, at the Jewish state. Again, in October 2024, Iran launched another wave of attacks at Israel using the same weapons, ostensibly in response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh on its soil.

In fact, the 7 October attacks could be considered an Iranian act of war, given that it had been arming and funding the central protagonist, Hamas, for years.

Whatever timeline one takes, there has clearly been an ongoing armed conflict between the two countries, and the idea that Israel’s defensive actions have to be confined

merely to its own territory is fanciful at best. It is entirely legitimate to take the war to an enemy state.

It is equally fatuous to deride Israel’s claim to be acting in self-defence against an imminent threat. Despite the massive destruction wreaked on Iran’s nuclear weapons industry during Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran is still believed to have possessed some 430kg of highly enriched uranium before the start of this war. This was reportedly enough material to create nine nuclear weapons.

Iran has also been rapidly rebuilding its medium- to long-range ballistic missile capability, seen by Jerusalem as a major existential threat. Given that the regime is ruled by an elite of theocratic fascists who are dedicated to Israel’s destruction, such grave threats cannot be tolerated. It is unrealistic, even absurd, to ask a country to wait until it is attacked with weapons of mass destruction before taking the initiative.

America, too, is justified in launching these attacks. It has the right to come to the aid of an ally that has been relentlessly bombarded by Iranian proxies since 7

October, never mind the years that preceded that crime. More importantly, Iran has the blood of hundreds of Americans on its hands from the 1980s to the present.

The regime’s refrain of "death to America" is not some idle piece of rhetoric but a violent call to arms in the region. From Trump’s point of view, the only viable way to remove this threat is to destroy the regime. That happens to be Israel’s view too.

During the January crackdown, it is estimated that tens of thousands of Iranians were murdered by the brutal thugs of the IRGC and Iraqi militias. They shot unarmed protesters, bystanders and children with live ammunition and have executed many more in recent weeks. There is a moral case for intervening to protect the civilian population.

The fall of the ayatollahs would be a crushing blow to China and Russia, two autocracies vying for supremacy in today’s increasingly multipolar world. The demise of the Islamic Republic would be akin to the Berlin Wall’s collapse in 1989. That is why the West should stand with the US and Israel in demanding regime change in Iran – a demand both morally and legally justified.

Time to end the silence on antisemitism in our schools

ewish families across Britain recently gathered to celebrate Purim. They celebrated with costumes, food and the reading of the Book of Esther – the story of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people of Persia and of the courage that defeated it.

I know that for many British Jewish families right now, that story will continue to resonate.

Since October 2023, I have listened to Jewish parents describe the anxiety of putting their children on the school bus.

I have heard from Jewish teachers who love their work but dread certain classroom discussions.

I have read the testimonies of pupils who were targeted, reported it and felt nothing happened.

These are not isolated cases. They are a pattern and they demand a serious response. The numbers tell their own story.

The Community Security Trust recorded 204 school-related antisemitic incidents in 2025. That is double the levels seen before October 2023.

Nearly one-in-four British Jewish parents

Bridget Phillipson MP speaking to JFS pupils

say their child has experienced antisemitism at school or on the way there.

More than half of Jewish teachers who raised concerns in the workplace said appropriate action was not taken.

These are professionals who did the right thing, and felt let down.

I have asked Sir David Bell to lead an independent review into how schools and colleges in England identify, respond to and prevent antisemitism.

Sir David will look into available guidance and training, whether the right processes are in place when schools do not meet their responsibilities, and how sta can be supported to recognise and challenge

antisemitism, including in the charged and complex conversations that have grown since 7 October.

I want to be honest about what this review can and cannot do. It will not end antisemitism. It is not a magic wand. But it is a serious, independent and practical piece of work, that will set out concrete steps we can take to improve. I am committed to acting on its findings.

And it builds on £7million already invested across all education settings to tackle antisemitism, including through delivering resources and training for education professionals.

The Purim story is a story about people

JEWISH CHILDREN IN ENGLAND DESERVE TO WALK INTO CLASSROOMS AND FEEL THEY ARE SAFE

who used their voices and their positions to act. What strikes me is not just the courage it took to speak, but the cost of staying silent. Haman’s hatred flourished because it went unchecked for too long.

The lesson for us, I think, is that silence and inaction are never neutral.

Jewish children in England deserve to walk into a classroom and feel safe. Jewish teachers deserve to raise concerns and have them taken seriously.

Jewish families deserve to celebrate Purim and every other festival in the Jewish calendar knowing that their government values them, understands the threat they face, takes it seriously and is doing something about it.

I am determined to make sure that commitment is felt not just at times of celebration, but in the daily reality of Jewish life in this country.

A time above all for us to stand by our people

SIR MICK DAVIS

Iam currently studying the concluding pages of Bava Batra, where the Talmud considers, to derive a proof for something else, when the disqualification of one witness invalidates the testimony of all others. This is the principle of kat achat, collective testimony, where witnesses form one unit, therefore sharing a collective fate.

In this model, if just one witness is unfit so is the entire group, even if most are kosher. If, however, witnesses testify separately as individuals with their own agency, the disqualification of one does not automatically destroy the testimony of the others.

My study has been against the backdrop of frequent conversations with my daughters living in Tel Aviv, often punctuated or cut short by sirens and their urgent need to shelter, while my computer flashes with news updates. The conflict with Iran is everpresent in all our lives, more viscerally and immediate for some than others. On Purim, the symbolism couldn’t have been more stark but what of the searing moment in this

week’s parsha, Ki Tisa, when we read of the catastrophic idolatry of the golden calf and Moses’ extraordinary response?

Moses pleads to Hashem on behalf of the Children of Israel: “So now, if You will (but) endure their sin – but if not, erase me from Your book that You wrote.” This is more than advocacy – Moses binds his fate to the collective. Commentaries di er but converge on one truth: Moses refuses to accept a future in which he is preserved but Israel discarded. This is leadership as radical solidarity – and speaks directly to this moment.

Why would anyone choose such a glaring vulnerability that leaves you impacted by the actions of others? Why abandon the agency to stand or fall on your own merits, to embrace a collective that can be brought down by the failings of one? The answer is in what the collective makes possible.

Jewish law distinguishes between eidei birur (witnesses who merely report what happened), and eidei kiyum (witnesses with collective agency), witnesses who don’t just record reality but create it. At a wedding, two witnesses must be present, to prove the marriage occurred and make it a marriage in the first place. Without

them there is no marriage even if all other requirements are met. Transformative change needs the collective.

As Israel and the US launched pre-emptive strikes against Iran, they demonstrated strength and operational genius while Israel again summoned its resilience as Iran’s missiles rained down.

I confess I have concerns about this campaign but not per se about confronting Iran, which has spread terror, murdered Israelis and Jews and been an existential threat for decades while simultaneously brutalising its people and the region. In London, the sight of the local Iranian community standing with Jews facing antisemitism to celebrate the removal of their tormentor was profoundly moving.

But valid strategic questions remain. What does “victory” mean? Regime change sounds compelling, but is it possible? What opposition force can topple the Iranian military and IRGC (which is still, unfathomably, not proscribed in the UK)? The regime, though weakened, could remain entrenched and renew its capabilities under similar leadership with the prospect of yet more war, death and destruction to come. Is there a deliverable strategy, or is it hope

dressed up as a plan, as I fear it might be ,while hoping I am wrong?

Yet notwithstanding both these misgivings and my profound and oft-stated dislike of this Israeli government and its policies, whose assault on liberal democracy I have opposed, whose treatment of Palestinians I have condemned, whose judicial coup I have fought – I stand with Israel in this conflict.

Why? Because I owe a duty to the collective.

This is Moses’ lesson and of kat achat. He abhorred the golden calf, smashed the tablets and rebuked the people. But when Hashem said: “I will destroy them,” Moses said: “Then destroy me too.” He bound his fate to theirs, as ours is bound to Israel’s.

So, I stand with Israel. Not because the strategy is perfect but because when Israel is under attack, our families in shelters, I will not stand apart. Saying: “This is not my fight because I disagree with the government” is not my Zionism and not my Torah. When you bind yourself to a people, you accept the times you are called to stand with them even when you disagree with their choices.

We stand with our people because if they go, we all go.

A lesson in hatred – behind Iran’s enmity towards Israel

PROF MEIR LITVAK ALLIANCE CENTRE FOR IRANIAN STUDIES

In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has championed the most radical anti-Israel stance in the Middle East, epitomised by state rhetoric calling Israel a “cancerous tumour” to be removed, and “Little Satan”, alongside the ubiquitous o cial slogan “Death to Israel”. Because Iran shares no border and no economic rivalry with Israel, the essence of this enmity is purely religious. While Shiite Islam has historically shown less tolerance toward Jews than Sunni Islam, the current fervour is rooted in the teachings of Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic. In his foundational text, Islamic Governance, Khomeini claimed Islam had been a icted by the Jews who conspired to foil the mission of the Prophet Muhammad. In modern times, he added, the Jews colluded with the “West” against Islam, because they knew Islam, thanks to its laws and moral system, was the major obstacle to their designs to take over the world. According to the ayatollah, this collusion is the root cause for all the calamities which had befallen Muslims in modern times. To

Khomeini, Zionism represented the ultimate culmination of this ancient and modern Jewish opposition to Islam, compounded by the “crime” of occupying a Muslim land and displacing the Muslim Palestinians. His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, continued this legacy, describing Zionism as the 20th century’s greatest moral injustice.

Though Iran claims o cially to distinguish between Judaism (a recognised monotheistic religion) and Zionism (which they view as a racist imperialist movement), the state’s discourse is heavily su used with antisemitism. Senior clerics often anachronistically conflate the two, referring to Jews from centuries ago as “Zionists”. More ominously, the state has published the notorious antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, cited frequently by o cial media, and “modernised” ancient blood libels by accusing Israeli doctors of harvesting Palestinian organs for profit or use.

A common antisemitic trope involves attributing Jewish origins to enemies; for example, claiming the Saudi royal family descends from the Jewish tribe of Banu-Qainuqa that fought the Prophet Muhammad.

A particularly problematic aspect of this conflation between Judaism and Zionism has been Holocaust denial, most notably by

Khamene’i himself, based on the premise since Israel has no moral or historical legitimacy, it enjoyed international support only because of the Holocaust. Therefore, refuting it would deprive Israel of any legitimacy and support and hasten its demise.

Denial was sometimes accompanied by implied justification of the Holocaust –thus former president Akbar Rafsanjani, a renowned ‘reformist’, who charged Israel was worse than Hitler and had killed more than a million Palestinians while the Nazi leader killed no more than 200,000 Jews in trying to save Germany from Zionist domination.

A more recent theme presented the Jews as historical enemies of Iran, from the supposed genocide by Jews against Iranians on Purim through Jewish alignment with the British in exploiting Iran during the 19th century and culminating in blaming the Rothschild family for the 1919 Iran famine –charges seeking to appeal to younger Iranians no longer adhering to the regime’s Islamic ideology but still Iranian patriots.

Finally, as many clerics describe the Jews as an inherently corrupt people, they predict Israel’s future violent demise will fulfil the Qur’anic prophecy on the divine punishment meted upon the Jews.

The ideological circle is often closed by eschatology, with clerics predicting a final

apocalyptic battle where Iranians fight the Jews alongside the Shii messiah, the Mahdi. Tragically, this is not merely theoretical. Iran has sought to manifest these ideas through direct action.

For many Iranians who do not support the regime, however, the e orts of the ayatollahs to create and foster this antisemitic narrative are often viewed with contempt.

In February, a prominent Iranian singer, Mehdi Yarrahi, released a song called “Auschwitz” about the regime’s brutality in crushing January’s protests.

By its very name, the song rejects the regime’s Holocaust denial narrative. Yarrahi received 75 lashes last year for another song critical of the regime.

Hossein Shanbehzadeh, who wrote the words, is serving a 12 year prison sentence after he responded to a tweet from Ayatollah Khamene’i with a single dot – which received more likes than Khamenei’s original post. He was accused of spreading anti-regime propaganda and being an Israeli spy.

While it is not yet clear whether the regime will survive the coming weeks, it is to be hoped that if Iran is free of that baleful influence it will reject the antisemitic propaganda narrative which has been pushed for the past few decades, and instead embrace a future without such malignity.

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Sir Tony’s early Shabbat dinner

Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair joined broadcaster and political editor Robert Peston for an on-stage conversation at Jewish News’ second Media & More fundraising lunch, held in central London in support of the Jacob Foundation – the charity that owns the publication. Speaking before an audience of more than 250 guests, Sir Tony offered his reflections on the state of British politics and shifting international order. The discussion also touched on the war in Iran and the rise of antisemitism in Britain.

Images: Blake Ezra Photography

by Blake Ezra Photography

1

CAMP SIMCHA SHABBAT

A three-day residential retreat in Warwickshire for more than 170 family members gave seriously ill children and their families respite and a chance to make memories. Supported by staff and 125 dedicated volunteers, children enjoyed arts and crafts and outings, including a water park and a trampoline centre, with a flower-arranging workshop for the mums. Themed days took families from Italy to the London Underground, with Shabbat including the call-up of a Camp Simcha sibling celebrating his bar mitzvah. “It was a special Shabbat and a privilege to celebrate this milestone within the Camp Simcha community,” said chief executive Daniel Gillis.

2SACKS MORASHA RAISES £190,000

The north Finchley primary school raised the remarkable sum through a 36-hour fundraising campaign. Funds raised will directly support continued growth and enrichment at the school, which serves around 200 pupils. Headteacher Dena Shmuel said: “We are absolutely delighted to have surpassed our target and to be able to further enhance the learning opportunities for our pupils. The level of support from our school community – including staff, parents and governors and even alumni – has been truly overwhelming.”

3HATFIELD JEWISH GROWTH

Hatfield Jewish Community celebrated its biggest Jewish gathering, as around 100 people joined a special Shabbaton in Letchworth led by Rabbi Adam and Rebbetzen Racheli Herszaft. Synagogue chair Sabrina Lee said: “This is a true reflection of our rapidly expanding community. With Jewish people of varying generations coming together, sharing meals, conversation and meaningful moments, the atmosphere was filled with warmth and genuine connections. The turnout and spirit showed just how vibrant, welcoming and united our community has become.”

4

ALYTH ANNUAL IFTAR

Alyth’s thirteenth annual iftar brought together more than 200 Jews, Muslims and Christians to study, pray and eat. Welcomed by Rabbi Hannah Kingston and Rabbi Elliott Karstadt, the gathering split into study sessions to explore the theme of Finding Light In The Darkness, taught by teachers of the three faiths. Imam Mehmed Stublla then led a call to prayer before those present enjoyed a feast of falafel, breads, humous and fruit. Rabbi Kingston said: “Now, more than ever, coming together with other faiths, to celebrate our similarities and embrace our differences is so important. Our annual iftar has become a real beacon of light.”

5KISHARON LANGDON HONOURED AT THE BARNET CARE AWARDS

Support worker Georgia Rami and volunteer Michelle Grossman won at this year’s Awards, which celebrate those who demonstrate exceptional commitment, innovation and dedication. Georgia was recognised for her work with Channi, a young woman supported by Kisharon Langdon, in achieving a dream of completing a skydive while raising over £3,400 for the charity. Michelle was named Volunteer Award winner in recognition of eight years of dedicated service and one-to-one support for Talya, who lives with learning disabilities, mobility challenges and significant sight difficulties. Chief executive Richard Franklin said: “Both Georgia and Michelle embody the compassion, dignity and community spirit at the heart of Kisharon Langdon. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition and thank them for the extraordinary difference they make every day.”

Women’s Voices; Remembering Bernard Lewis

From Barbra with love

A non-musical stage production of Yentl opens in London this week. By Jenni Frazer

Hear the word “Yentl” and what springs to mind? That film, of course, starring, in every sense, the omnipresent Barbra Streisand, singing power ballads, delighting the yeshiva student Avigdor, played by a rather gullible Mandy Patinkin, all to a script crafted by the late Jack Rosenthal. Streisand, who made the film in 1983, not only acted, but produced, directed and also apparently co-wrote the screen play.

The film was based on a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yentl the Yeshiva Boy, published in the US, slightly to my surprise, as late as 1962. It is the story of a woman who is desperate to learn, and on the death of her father disguises herself as a man and re-names herself Anshel, the name of her late brother, in order to study at a yeshiva.

Now Londoners will have a chance to see a new and somewhat darker version of Yentl, the rights to which were acquired by Streisand in 1968. It became a passion project for her. But as Gary Abrahams, the director of this new production, explains, Yentl is just as much a passion project for him and his cast and crew.

Abrahams is the executive director of a unique and legendary Australian theatre company, the Kadimah Yiddish Theatre, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. The idea to stage Yentl, he says, “was first the idea of Evelyn Krape, Kadimah’s artistic director. Kadimah was originally set up by Yiddishspeaking writers and actors who had come to Australia from Europe. It was established as an artistic community – they would get together and read poems and stories. One hundred years ago, they put on their first play.”

how sanitised the film was, a very heteronormative reading of the story. Actually, the story is so different, with really deep kabbalistic questions around identity and soul.

“Bashevis Singer was steeped in Torah and Yiddish folklore – so the story involves possession and dybbuks and ghosts. It felt like an incredibly exciting contemporary story to return to, and perhaps reclaim.”

Complicating the issue of legal rights to stage Yentl in Australia, the Kadimah team realised that Bashevis Singer himself had made his short story into a Broadway play in 1975, co-written with Leah Napolin and featuring a cast of 20, including the actress Tova Feldshuh playing Yentl.

ences and cadences” between the Yiddish and English versions.

That was not the only challenge facing Kadimah. Abrahams needed to whittle down the cast of characters to just three main roles: Yentl herself, who becomes Anshel; Avigdor, her fellow yeshiva student, who “takes her under his wing”; and Hadass, “the love interest”. This last is the strangest part of the story, that Hadass’s father encourages an Orthodox wedding between the brilliant yeshiva student Anshel (Yentl) and Hadass –who was once engaged to Avigdor.

Abrahams himself is an Aussie immigrant, having been born and brought up in Johannesburg, South Africa. He arrived in Australia when he was just 20. His mother’s side of the family was Lithuanian and his grandparents were Yiddish speakers – but neither Abrahams nor his mother spoke the language.

Now, he says, Kadimah and Yentl have awakened his interest in the language and he has begun taking Yiddish classes. “I’ve discovered the beauty of it. I hope people in London will come and see what we have done. This is Theatre with a capital T.”

Over the years Kadimah’s fortunes waned, but about for the past five years, says Abrahams, “we have been re-invigorating it and trying to make it more of a professional company. We wanted to celebrate Yiddish culture, explore works and try to make it contemporary”.

Evelyn Krape had long been familiar with the Bashevis Singer story but hadn’t read it for years. She re-read it and then gave it to Abrahams to see what he thought.

“I was so struck, on reading it, how different it was from the film and how contemporary the themes were,” says Abrahams. “Inevitably every generation will read the story through its own lens. For me, the questions about identity and sexuality really jumped out at me – and it made me realise

Kadimah successfully applied for the rights to stage Yentl. Abrahams says he thinks they were given the go-ahead “because we were just a small company in Australia. [One of the conditions for granting the rights was that the new productions could not include music.] But then there was Covid and Melbourne was subjected to severe lockdown – which meant we had plenty of time to workshop and develop ideas of how to tell the story”.

Despite his many years living in the US, Bashevis Singer always wrote first in Yiddish and then his work would be translated into English. So the Kadimah team went back to the original Yiddish version of Yentl, and, says Abrahams, found “nuances and differ-

Abrahams wanted a fourth character, a narrator who, he says, “is based on the Yetzer Hara, or Evil Inclination, and use that to explore the complexity and ambiguity of the Evil Inclination in Judaism. Jewish teachings suggest that the Yetzer Hara is not necessarily evil, but it can be part of you that leads you to transgress or rebel”.

This figure is not just the narrator of Kadimah’s production but is also “Yentl’s inner voice, who cajoles her and provokes her”.

Yentl premiered in Melbourne in 2022, just after lockdown was lifted, and received a rapturous response, which appears to have startled the Kadimah team. “There were Orthodox and traditionally Jewish audiences sitting next to trans and drag queens and LGBTQ audiences”.

It then transferred to the Sydney Opera House in 2024, scooping up a clutch of awards and thrilling audiences with its mixture of Yiddish (with surtitles) and English.

 Yentl runs at the Marylebone Theatre from until 12 April. marylebonetheatre.com

Amy Hack was “a very shy kid” at school. But the moment she stepped on stage, she says, she was filled with confidence. School was a Jewish day school in Melbourne, Australia, where the actress was born. And now London audiences will be able to judge for themselves as Amy Hack plays the title role of Yentl. In a video call from Sydney, where she is now based a er having moved there to attend drama school, Hack says that she is one of five lively siblings born to South African parents, mother a painter, father a businessman. “I don’t think our parents expected any of us to follow directly in their

Girl in a man’s world

Amy Hack plays the title role in Yentl in London. By Jenni Frazer

footsteps”, she says, “but they were always supportive, our cheerleaders”.

In her career to date, Hack has played “quite a few Jewish roles – and Yentl is part of that. It’s been an opportunity to tell culturally Jewish stories to a wider audience and to create a cultural tapestry for Australians –and to add a little bit of spice to that”.

She was thrilled to be playing Yentl, she says. “It’s an unmistakable Jewish story and I was proudly and openly performing in this piece. Though I do believe that as actors, we can and should play any part, it did mean something extra to be playing a Jewish role.

“At the same time, I think it’s not completely a Jewish story – I’ve met many people who say [its themes] speak really loudly to them. People from di erent cultures who may have religious or social constraints have said they can identify with Yentl – so it’s universal in that regard.”

Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story, Yentl the Yeshiva Student, tracks the journey of an unhappy young woman in 19th century Poland who is desperate to learn the essence of Jewish teaching in the way her dying father encouraged her.

Once he dies, however, she is expected to conform and marry, with all the opportuni-

ties for learning denied to her.

Instead, Yentl makes a radical decision to cut her hair, dress as a boy, and join a yeshiva. But this small personal rebellion has unpredicted ramifications as first fellow student Avigdor (played in London by Ashley Margolis) falls in love with her, and then she is obliged to marry Hodes (Hadass), played by Genevieve Kingsford.

The Kadimah Yiddish Theatre, of course, specialises in making Yiddish a central part of its productions. This version of Yentl is played in both English and Yiddish.

Hack says that in her family, it was Yiddish and Afrikaans which were the languages used when the adults did not want her and her siblings to know what was being discussed. Her grandmother, she says, emigrated to South Africa from Latvia and spoke only Russian and Yiddish – so Yiddish was in the air at her home.

“I learned Hebrew at school so Yiddish wasn’t as foreign to me as it might have been to other people, but it was still a very exciting challenge – and the best thing was when I realised that I could understand what other actors on stage were saying when they were speaking Yiddish”.

Making her London debut in Yentl “feels

totally surreal”, admits Hack, who says she never dreamed that she would be acting in the UK.

We haven’t mentioned the seminal Streisand film in our talk so far, but Hack says she read the Singer short story first and then watched the film “once, and won’t do it again because I didn’t want to be influenced by it. I was surprised at how di erent the film was from the Singer story, which is dark and gloomy and mysterious. Gary and the writing team have eked out that feeling from the story and applied it to our production”.

And finally, what does Amy Hack think becomes of Yentl once Avigdor finds out who she really is? She laughs. “I don’t really see a place for her anywhere. But Yentl and her alter ego, Anshel, could not have been the only persons of her kind; so maybe she finds a space where there are others like her – and finds love.”

6 May, 7.30pm

Female-led arts festival features works by, about and starring Jewish women, writes Anthea

Gerrie She said, she said

Naomi Sorkin, the dancer and actress who is creative producer of London’s Playground Theatre, has once again assembled an impressive roster of female talent for the 2026 edition of the festival she instigated at the theatre last year in honour of International Women’s Day.

Jewish participants in the 2026 programme, which features 12 plays and four films as well as music, dance, poetry, discussion and stand-up comedy, include the multi-award-nominated Dame Janet Suzman talking about the experience of playing Cleopatra, one of her most famous roles. BAFTA-winning comedy writer Helen Serafinowicz will talk with her co-writer Lisa Forrell about how a television series comes together, while Ruby Isaacs, daughter of actor Jason Isaacs, will make her London debut as a playwright, performer and director.

Also present as subject matter are two Jewish women whose notorious activities made them the subject of unsavoury headlines: Hedy Lamarr, the toast of Hollywood before a scandal tipped her career trajectory o -course, and Ghislaine Maxwell, whose actions in enabling Je rey Epstein’s sex crimes are the subject of a play written and performed by award-winning actress and playwright Kristin Winters.

This year two very young writers are getting their London debut at Women’s Voices: A Celebration. Isaacs, a 20-year-old who is studying film in Montreal with a special interest in the horror genre, has written a powerful play about rape, Honeytrap, while Who’d Love Lucy, by 24-year-old playwright Molly Stern, is a di erent kind of revenge drama, with a protagonist who’s looking for love.

Stern’s play was brought to Sorkin by Nicole Ansari-Cox, a co-producer of this year’s festival, who will be assuming the persona of Hedy Lamarr, the Jewish actress who left Hungary to captivate Hollywood during its golden age. She will read the one-woman play Seven Seconds of Eternity, in which Lamarr reflects on the scandal – a seven-second nude scene – that changed the course of her career and caused the smouldering star, who played opposite Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and other greats of the silver screen, to be castigated and sidelined.

Ansari-Cox, wife of actor Brian, last weekend also played Mozart’s wife, Constanze, in the dark comedy Madame Mozart. Here, in the spirit of this feminist festival, the underestimated spouse completed the famous composer’s final musical commission and turned out to be “the only one standing, cleverer and braver than everyone else in her story”. As director, Ansari-Cox is also reprising a multimedia show she brought to the Edinburgh Fringe after its debut in New York. SHE/HER is topically dedicated to the women of Iran who have driven the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, and will play for two nights during the festival.

From Jasmine Dellal, sister of the acclaimed film-maker Gaby Dellal, whose Park Avenue featured in last year’s UK Jewish Film Festival, comes the documentary Gypsy Caravan, celebrating the music of the Roma. And there is live music, too, from Trio Goya, three Jewish musicians playing pieces by female composers at a Sunday morning co ee concert.

Sex and love are a major theme of this year’s programme, with Serafinowicz, co-creator of Motherland and Amandaland, and her Jewish collaborator Lisa Forrell talking about their comedy series around older dating, commissioned by the BBC. But

there’s little of either in The Spy Princess, the story of Noor Inayat Kahn, the brave descendant of an Indian prince who spied for Britain and was ultimately murdered in Dachau. The Jewish connection here is the multi-award-winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Sorkin, co-curator and co-producer of this year’s Women’s Voices, is also screening Roman Fever, a short film based on an Edith Wharton story she brought to Barbara Stone, the Jewish film entrepreneur who founded the Gate Cinema in Notting Hill, to produce. She stars in the film herself as the more glamorous, flamboyant and malevolent of two middle-aged American women who meet in an Italian villa to relive their shared romantic exploits and air old scores.

Sebastian Comberti, who plays cello in Trio Goya, is one of the rare male performers in this female festival; another is Iain Glen, star of the short film Vagabond Shoes, which was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA. But every famous man has a great woman behind him, and this work is no exception – the director of this intriguing movie about a homeless man whose story is revealed at a high society gathering is multiple awardwinner Jackie Oudney.

Like Madame Mozart, Moon Watch – a one-woman show starring one of Britain’s top musical stars, Janie Dee, and The Elizabeths – which features Caroline Goodall, who played Emilie Schindler in Schindler’s List, as Elizabeth I,Vagabond Shoes is one of the non-Jewish but enticing o erings in a festival which showcases the wealth of female talent from all over the world dropping into London in March.

As Sorkin says herself: “At a moment when headlines continue to expose the scale of abuse carried out by the rich and powerful against women, Women’s Voices stands as a clear counterpoint. This festival exists to amplify women’s stories through performance music, dance, theatre and conversation – and to insist that women’s voices are heard, believed and valued.”

• Women’s Voices: A Celebration runs until 31 March at the Playground Theatre

TRUE GENTLEMAN WHO LED FROM THE FRONT

Bernard Lewis, the retail visionary and philanthropist, died last month

ributes have been paid to Bernard Lewis, the visionary retailer who built River Island into one of Britain’s most recognised fashion brands, after he died last month aged 100, just 18 days after celebrating his centenary.

TFor eight decades, Bernard was a constant presence on the British high street. From a wooden shack on a north London bomb site to more than 300 stores nationwide, his journey mirrored the transformation of modern British retail.

Fellow businessman and philanthropist Lord Michael Levy described Bernard as “a true gentleman – a successful and honourable man in business, a proud Jew, and extremely generous to so many charitable causes. In his quiet, humble and dignified way, he led from the front on so many issues. May his memory be a blessing for us all”.

in his long and full life”, adding: “Together with his brother David they built wonderful businesses, engaged in supporting a wide range of charitable endeavours and were true British Zionists. I was fortunate to have a cup of tea with Bernard and his son Clive just a few weeks ago. Bernard was on top form, asking many questions and discussing long-term issues affecting the UK and Israel.

Bernard Lewis

Lord Stuart Polak said he was “a legend

“He was kind and generous, and at the same time thoughtful, modest and unassuming.”

Daniel Rubin, founder of the shoe empire Dune, said Bernard was “one of a group of inspirational Jewish entrepreneurs who changed the face of British fashion retail. He was a strong leader and the driving force behind the growth of River Island. He understood that product was the key to success”.

For many in the Jewish community, his story carried particular resonance: the son of a Jewish family who came of age in wartime

Britain, educated at JFS, shaped by resilience, modesty and relentless hard work.

Born Bernard Pokrasse in 1926, he grew up helping his grandmother on her market stall and working in his parents’ fruit shop. After serving in the RAF during the Second World War, he returned to a country still scarred by bombing.

In 1946, aged 20, he built a wooden shack with his own hands on a bombsite on Holloway Road and began selling fruit and vegetables.

It was an unglamorous beginning. As his son Clive reflected when marking his father’s 100th birthday earlier this year, “the harsh times of his childhood shaped everything that followed”.

From fruit and veg, Bernard added knitting wool, then recognising that customers making their own clothes might also want to buy ready-made garments. Almost by accident, he began stocking blouses and skirts – a move that would change his life.

Leaving behind produce and wool, he pivoted entirely to womenswear and opened a shop in Mare Street, Hackney, under the name Lewis Separates, using borrowed money and taking risks he could scarcely afford.

Frustrated by wholesalers, he began sketching his own designs and working with local manufacturers, becoming one of the first British retailers to design, manufacture and sell its own clothing under one roof. By the late 1950s the business was expanding nationally, with stores opening in Hull and Glasgow.

In 1967, sensing cultural change, he and his brother Geoffrey launched Chelsea Girl – “the boutique on the high street”. It captured the spirit of Swinging London and grew to more than 170 stores, defining how a generation of young women shopped.

Two decades later, he reinvented the business again. Together with his eldest son Leonard, he made the bold decision to retire the Chelsea Girl name and relaunch as River Island – an unprecedented nationwide rebrand that proved an instant success.

In 2005, Drapers awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his pivotal role in shaping UK fashion retail.

Yet those who worked with him say it was never simply about profit. “What really mattered to him was being the best the business could be and giving people the chance to be the best they could be,” his family wrote on his 100th birthday.

Famously private and publicity-shy, Lewis maintained an unfussy, down-to-earth style. Colleagues recall his incisive questions, careful listening and extraordinary attention to detail. His office at Chelsea House remained unchanged for decades – no fancy furniture, no clutter, no awards on the shelves, just family photographs.

Even at 100, Bernard was still visiting the office occasionally, keeping a close eye on the business he had built. Alongside him was his wife Vanessa, River Island’s former fashion and creative director, whose own contribution to the company was significant.

Beyond retail, Lewis was a committed philanthropist. Through the Bernard Lewis Family Charitable Trust, he supported educational and welfare causes in the UK and Israel, including the Jewish National Fund and the Jerusalem Foundation, reflecting both his deep communal ties and enduring support for the State of Israel. Clive said his father’s “commitment to Israel was total. Not in any way political, but he spoke of the pride he felt as a young man when the State was created and Jews could stand taller. He had a clear view about Israel’s centrality to Jewish identity, regardless of politics, and his commitment to and support of Israel didn’t waver”.

Despite building a retail empire employing thousands, Bernard remained reserved and modest, uncomfortable with personal acclaim. From a small unit in Holloway to becoming a household name on the high street, Bernard Lewis built more than a business – he built a legacy. He is remembered as a pioneer of British retail, a devoted family man, humble leader and a proud Jew.

Bernard is survived by his wife Vanessa, his sons Leonard, Clive, Sam and Jake, and his daughter Caroline.

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

BY RABBI ELCHONON FELDMAN CHAIR OF THE RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF

THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE AND SENIOR RABBI OF BUSHEY UNITED SYNAGOGUE

Homeward bound

Recently, I had the privilege of co-chairing a training day for Barnet Council social workers and other key members of sta . The session took place in a beautiful synagogue in north west London, an impressive setting in which to discuss Jewish life, community structures and cultural sensitivity.

As we described synagogue life, communal prayer and the rhythms of the Jewish calendar, I noticed an interesting assumption forming among some of the participants: it seemed they were drawing a conclusion that the synagogue is the centre of Jewish life.

At one point I paused and gently corrected that impression. The synagogue is certainly important. It is where we gather to pray, learn and celebrate together. But if you want to understand where Judaism truly lives and breathes, I explained, you have to look some-

where else entirely: the Jewish home.

Judaism may be something we practise in synagogue, but it is lived at home.

That insight resonates powerfully this Shabbat. As we read the double portion of Vayakhel–Pekudei, describing the completion of the Mishkan, we also mark Shabbat HaChodesh, the special reading that heralds the arrival of the month of Nissan and the approach of Pesach.

The additional Torah reading begins with the words: “HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chodashim (this month shall be for you the beginning of months).” It marks the birth of the Jewish calendar and the first commandment given to the Jewish people as a nation.

Yet when the Torah turns to the central ritual of Pesach, the offering of the Korban Pesach, something striking happens. It is not organised around a central sanctuary or communal space. Instead, the Torah emphasises the household: “Seh lebeit avot, seh

labayit (a lamb for each family, for each home).”

From the very beginning of Jewish nationhood, the Torah signals that the most powerful arena for Jewish continuity is not the public institution but the private home.

This idea echoes the famous words of the Shema: “V’shivtecha b’veitecha u’vlechtecha baderech (when you sit in your home and when you walk along the way).” Jewish life is meant to accompany us everywhere, but it begins within the walls of our homes.

That is why the defining rituals of Pesach take place around the Seder table. It is there that parents tell the story of the Exodus to their children. It is there that questions are asked, traditions are passed down and Jewish identity is quietly shaped. Synagogues may be the visible landmarks of Jewish life, but Jewish continuity has always been built around the kitchen table, the Shabbat candles and the conversations that unfold in the home.

As Pesach approaches, Shabbat HaChodesh instructs us where the real work of Jewish continuity happens. Preparing for Pesach about creating a home environment in which our families can encounter the beauty, meaning and pride of Jewish life. The synagogue may inspire us, but it is the home that sustains us.

As we prepare for the festival of freedom, may our homes become spaces where the story of our people is told and lived, ensuring that the next generation carries it forward.

Shabbat Shalom.

CLOSING DOWN SALE EVERYTHING MUST GO

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI KATH VARDI MENORAH REFORM SYNAGOGUE, SOUTH MANCHESTER

Last month, CST released its annual report on antisemitic incidents in the UK. The figures make for sobering reading. In 2025, there were 3,700 reported incidents – the second-highest number in a single year.

The most serious of these was the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue on the morning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, in which Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed and three others seriously injured. That morning remains etched into all our memories.

Equally troubling in CST’s report is the rise in antisemitic incidents that follow in the wake of a successful attack. Perhaps emboldened, others then take the opportunity to express hate.

And it is not only physical violence that people must navigate. Comments made by

others – sometimes in the heat of debate –can leave us feeling weary, if not outright targeted. Speaking personally, it can feel as though we have lost our ability to engage in meaningful and thoughtful discussion, too often resorting to soundbites or sweeping accusations of blame or shame.

This reality a ects each of us di erently. For some, it feels more important than ever to nurture strong community ties and maintain a rich and thriving Jewish life. The meaning Judaism brings to our lives is precious.

For others, despite their deep love of Judaism and the community, this may feel like a time to step back – perhaps avoiding services or communal events, even if only temporarily. Whatever choices we are making, these are challenging times.

We must rise to these challenges. We must ensure that our security measures work e ectively. Here in Manchester, we have worked closely with Greater Manchester Police, whose support, concern and commitment to our community’s safety have been both

evident and deeply appreciated.

We must also continue to help people learn about Judaism and the Jewish community, safely welcoming all who wish to come and learn. And we must reach out to our neighbouring communities with friendship, concern, and a willingness to deepen our understanding of di erence.

Mitzvah Day saw five South Manchester synagogues – from across the denominational spectrum – come together to organise an afternoon tea for the entire South Manchester community. The aim was to build relationships

A stimulating series where our progressive rabbis consider Judaism in the face of 21stcentury challenges

and encourage greater cooperation and communication. More than 120 visitors attended, including representatives from local churches, mosques, temples, Samaj groups, voluntary organisations and interfaith networks.

Our local faith networks also remain active, most recently demonstrated at an uplifting entertainment evening organised by the Altrincham Interfaith Network, where representatives from many di erent faiths came together to sing, dance, laugh and perform in a lively atmosphere of shared purpose and hope.

These have been important moments. While the world can indeed be a hostile place and we must take this seriously, we also have to continue the work of building bridges –remaining curious about others and striving to understand their perspectives, even as we may disagree.

We must stay alive to our capacity to connect across our di erences and invite others to do the same, for it is in these acts of courage, generosity, and open hearted encounter that we shape the kind of society in which we, and all our neighbours, can truly flourish.

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A moving documentary about the Holocaust in the Soviet

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VIVIAN SILVER AWARDS

Sunday 22 March | 4pm | Central London nd

At a moment of deep crisis in the Middle East, join the New Israel Fund to honour the legacy of Vivian Silver — the renowned Israeli peace activist murdered by Hamas on 7 October — and those continuing her work towards dialogue, coexistence and a shared future for Israelis and Palestinians.

Hosted by Christiane Amanpour, CNN.

Tickets: