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EXCLUSIVE by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin
Ed Miliband has firmly rejected allegations that he’s putting the security of British Jews at risk with his announcement of tough new sanctions against Israel. The foreign secretary also revealed he disregarded pleas from Jewish communal leaders, including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council not to announce West Bank trade sanctions, after deciding that “a strategy of passivity in the face of what is happening is not a strategy”. In an exclusive interview with Jewish News in his office in central London on Tuesday, the Jewish former Labour Party leader rejected allegations that he was putting the security of British Jews at risk. “I don’t accept that,” Miliband said. “Any person who targets British Jews because of the actions of the Israeli government is an antisemite in my view. That’s very, very important, and I couldn’t have said it more plainly. Indeed, I think that view is shared across the House of Commons, and I believe we all have a responsibility to protect British Jews as a government, as a society. I say that loudly and clearly.” He added: “I don’t think anyone should be conflating these two sets of questions. There are British Jews going about their lives, there are the actions of the Israeli government, and then there is our relationship with Israel. I want a strong and flourishing relationship with Israel.” Miliband strongly disputed claims that sanctions could now jeopardise Continued on page 2
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Jewish News 10 September 2026
News / Ed Miliband interview
Miliband: Israel enabling ‘ethnic cleansing’ Continued from page 1 the right of Jews, including those from the UK, to pray in the Old City, part of East Jerusalem. “They’re not going to be. I can absolutely assure you of that. There’s no inhibition on the right to pray, people to visit the Old City, people to visit relatives and so on. I really want to give that reassurance to you, readers and viewers.” He added: “It’s so important to distinguish between our view of green line Israel – an absolutely central part of a two-state solution – and our view of the occupation. “Once you take the view that the occupation is unlawful, I do believe that you then have to look at your economic relationships as we would with any territory where we thought that there was unlawfulness.” Miliband confirmed the British government had concluded, in line with the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, not just that the occupation of the West Bank was “illegal” but also that it was “unlawful”. Asked directly if he had decided to ignore the advice of many of the main Jewish organisations in this country, Miliband responded: “Well, there are different views in the Jewish community, truthfully, about what we should do if you talk to people from Yachad and other organisations.” “I think there’s a diversity of viewpoints, but I accept what you say about the Board of Deputies and the JLC and the Chief Rabbi, all people and organisations I deeply respect. I think all of us are committed to the two-state solution. “All of us, I think, are appalled by the tragedy that has unfolded in the region. I think all of us are appalled by the Hamas attack of 7 October and I hope we’re all appalled by what we’ve also seen in Gaza and the death and destruction in Gaza. I think our disagreement is what should be done.
Ed Miliband in conversation with Jewish News poitical editor Lee Harpin
“Now I believe, and the prime minister believes, that a strategy of passivity in the face of what is happening is not a strategy and that we can’t see what is unfolding; we can’t see the destruction of the policy to which we are all ostensibly committed and just stand by.” Miliband was also quick to counter earlier suggestions that Britain was acting alone, and in a colonial fashion, without support from other international allies. He said: “That’s why we’ve decided to act in concert with others, and I would emphasise that it’s not just Britain today, it’s France, it’s Canada, it’s a whole range of countries.
“It’s a big international coalition, and I think that does send a message that our quarrel is not with the Israeli people. Our quarrel is with, our disagreement is with the policies of the Netanyahu government.” Miliband also rejected another widely shared claim that announcing sanctions ahead of next month’s Israel election was wrongful interference by a foreign power, and could even serve to help Netanyahu and far-right ministers, who would revel in the latest assault by the UK. He said: “On the question of timing, and obviously I’ve thought a lot about this and talked to many members of the community on the
timing, if we’re frank with each other, people will always say there’s no good time to take these measures. With the greatest sort of humility I’d say we as a British government can’t outsource our political moral responsibilities to the Israeli opposition or to the Israeli electorate. “I do make this point also, and I think many members of the community agree. I don’t believe that the actions of the current government in Israel are making the Israeli people safer or more secure. I think the opposite.” While the interview was under way, the Israeli government responded to the sanctions announcement, stating it will close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre and other measures. Miliband called the response “deeply regrettable”, but added: “We have to do what we believe is the right thing based on our values, and that’s what I was doing today. “We are deeply committed to the two-state solution. We’re deeply committed to security for the Israeli people, security for Israel alongside a viable and secure Palestinian state and actually I believe that the only route, the only durable route to security for Israel, is with a twostate solution, and we see the two-state solution being destroyed by the facts on the ground. “The facts on the ground, unfortunately, were in part created by the actions of this Israeli government, and so the urgency, including with E1 and the tenders, meant we felt we had to act today. We’re going to do what I announced, and you know the Israeli government will have to make it; the current Israeli government will have to make its own decisions on what they do.”
Chief: Sanctions ‘truly BURNHAM SETS MEETING a dark day for UK Jews’ TO BOLSTER SECURITY Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis responded to the sanctions by describing it as “truly a dark day for Britain’s Jews” and accused the government of having “chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us”. Sir Ephraim described the measures as amounting to “little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State. These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target. “On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism ... over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace. Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary. “Gesture politics of this kind feeds into an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel,
and the cumulative effect of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.” The Chief Rabbi met Miliband last month and described how he had told the foreign secretary that “While we share fervent hopes for a future of peace and security in the Middle East, I explained why I believe the UK government’s intended sanctions will be counter-productive and even endanger such a vision of peace. “I told the foreign secretary that many within the UK Jewish community will view such measures with deep dismay, at a time when the vilification of Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state has already reached unprecedented levels. The policy will not influence Israeli decision-making ... instead, it risks inflicting real harm across the region.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Antisemitism is being held to ensure the highest level of security is in place for the community over the High Holy Days. Meeting with Jewish communal leaders at Downing Street last week, Burnham said he and communities secretary Angela Rayner had called a meeting which included the country’s top security coordinators ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Burnham acknowledged “how much the community is struggling”, telling the gathering: “Right now, the levels of anxiety are really quite high and probably never higher in terms of a sense of people’s personal safety.” The discussions also saw communal leaders raise concerns about expected government sanctions on trade in the West Bank. A joint statement issued by the communal bodies after the meeting said: “While the par-
ticipants expressed support for all efforts to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and their opposition to extremism on all sides, they conveyed significant concerns about the unintended consequences of policies the government is considering in relation to settlements. “They pressed the prime minister to avoid steps that may cause harm to the Jewish community ... They cautioned that broad, untargeted measures may also give legitimacy to a wider boycott movement that marginalises and stigmatises British Jews. “They also asked the prime minister to carefully consider the potentially perverse consequences of announcing such measures during an already heated Israeli election, and the need for both the UK and Israeli governments to ensure that domestic political considerations do not stand in the way of the positive policy outcomes that the Middle East so desperately needs.”
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Voice of the Jewish News / News
Sanctions are premature and dangerously timed VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS Tuesday’s statement by the foreign secretary, announcing a raft of punitive measures aimed at Israel, was interestingly timed. In October, Israel goes to the polls, in what has been described as the most politically consequential election in a generation. Broadly speaking, the Israeli electorate will have the choice to either opt for the status quo or change. While settler violence has been an issue in the West Bank for decades, it is unquestionable that its overall level has increased in recent years, as a direct result of the inclusion of different extremist parties into Israel’s current governing coalition – particularly those led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. It is, therefore, highly likely that if Israeli opposition parties win the next election, as polling suggests that they are on course to do, a number of the most morally ruinous policies advanced under the country’s current leadership will be reversed.
ISRAEL HITS BACK OVER SANCTIONS Israeli responded to the UK’s announcement of sanctions against the West Bank by stating that it will close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, as well as removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre. Other measures announced by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in response to the British government’s announcement included the termination of British training for Palestinian Authority security forces, and the intention of denying entry into Israel to 12 MPs and anti-Israel activists. The dozen individuals in question are understood to include former Labour and currently independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, Labour MPs Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Naz Shah, and all five of the Green party’s MPs. The only non-MP on the list is believed to be Fahad Ansari, the lawyer who represented Hamas in court earlier this year in its bid to have its designation as a terrorist organisation overturned. Israel is due to hold its general election on 27 October
Repercussions: Gideon Saar
A swathe of settlement projects pushed forward by Smotrich will be cancelled. A culture where settler extremists appear confident, as a result of Ben Gvir’s grotesque appointment as ‘Security Minister’, to engage in acts of terror without consequence from the IDF will end. And a rogue’s gallery of some of the most venal, corrupt and self-aggrandising ministers the country has ever seen will be out on their ear. As the election has come closer, so too have the actions and rhetoric of Israel’s far right become more extreme, as they attempt to energise their base – a strong international reaction actually plays right into Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands, as he will engage in his patented ‘the world is against us and only I have the strength to fight for you’ routine. The international community could have either realised that these are the desperate actions
of a government which is hopefully in its final death throes, and wait accordingly – or it could jump in now, announcing sanctions that could potentially even help the current coalition in its bid to retain its clammy grip on power. It appears to have chosen the latter. We totally reject the idea that the British government should never criticise or take action against specific Israeli policy simply because Israel is the Jewish state. At the same time, however, if the metric the UK should apply when considering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “does this action further the prospect of a two-state solution” – the answer in this instance is “no”. But that is not the only aspect that the British government is taking into account. There are also, quite obviously, domestic political concerns. It is clear that Andy Burnham, now that Parliament has returned,
wants to quickly present a clear difference between the Israel stance taken by his Labour government compared to that of his predecessor, Keir Starmer. But this country has also seen a multi-year campaign, involving mass demonstrations and concerted pressure at national, regional and local levels, to turn Israel into a pariah state. This announcement comes two weeks before Labour party conference – because there is a domestic need to be seen to be doing something sooner rather than later, and because the Green party, which has picked up a raft of votes which would previously have gone to Labour, has made ‘Palestine’ its most central issue – over and above the environment itself. We reject the lazy stereotypes which claim that this action has been undertaken to win over a specific minority community - there are plenty of people on the Left of politics, from a variety of different backgrounds, whom the government is keen to win back. Continued on page 24
HUCKABEE: UK MOVE IS ‘IRRATIONAL’
‘Irrational act’: Mike Huckabee
American ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has described the UK’s actions move as an “irrational act”, but secretary of state Marco Rubio declined to comment on the announcement beyond saying the US would “obviously” not follow suit and Donald Trump has yet to comment. France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Ed Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so. A 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the twostate resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.” The bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project in the West Bank.”
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Jewish News 10 September 2026
Special Report / 25th anniversary of 9/11
The Holocaust, then 9/11. One family’s story Twenty-five years after Arlene Fried was killed in the North Tower, her brother Elliott Joseph tells Annabel Sinclair how two of history’s darkest chapters shaped one family At 8.44am on 11 September, 2001, Arlene Fried left a voicemail for a woman she barely knew. The 49-year-old lawyer was already at her desk at Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. Her brother, Elliott Joseph, had put her in touch with someone considering a career in law who wanted advice. Two minutes later, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the tower. For Arlene’s family, the voicemail established that she had made it to work that morning. It also preserved one of the last things they knew she did. “Selfless,” Elliott says 25 years later. “An act of kindness to a total stranger.” Arlene was a mother of three who decided to study law while bringing up her daughters. Her youngest was five when she went to Columbia Law School, and she continued doing the school run alongside her studies before building a legal career that eventually took her to Cantor Fitzgerald, where she became assistant general counsel. By September 2001, she was commuting from Long Island into lower Manhattan while raising three children and helping care for ageing parents. Elliott remembers another part of her life that was harder to capture on paper: the number of people who thought of her as their closest friend. “She was an extraordinary person,” Elliott, 72, tells Jewish News. “She was the best friend of a dozen or more different people. If you ask them, ‘Who’s your best friend?’, they’d say Arlene.” Later that September, hundreds gathered at her synagogue for a memorial service. Friend
Elliot Joseph with his sister, Arlene Fried, who worked on the 104th floor of the North Tower
after friend stood up and said much the same thing. “She was just a loved and appreciated person in so many people’s lives, and had so much to give.” Elliott and Arlene were close too. The siblings spoke on the phone every day, often while they were both driving into Manhattan. Elliott would call to ask where she was and what the traffic was like. He remembers Arlene putting on her eye makeup behind the wheel and saying that if she had managed to do it, the traffic could not have been too bad. On the morning of 11 September, Elliott had been at the gym. He came out to find the
phones were not working properly and boarded the subway from Forest Hills towards Manhattan. He still did not know what had happened downtown when he heard passengers talking about an attack on the World Trade Centre. “You could imagine how my heart sank when I heard that,” he says. For a while, the family found reasons to believe Arlene might not have been there. She had a long commute from Long Island, and the attack had happened early. Perhaps she had been delayed. Perhaps she had not reached her desk yet. Then they learnt about the voicemail.
“That became the unfortunate proof that she was there,” Elliott says. They continued looking for her. “For those first few days, we were searching,” Elliott says. “We hoped maybe she had ended up in a hospital or somehow made it down the stairs. We were waiting for any news that might tell us she was still alive.” Arlene had been on the 104th floor. The aircraft struck below her, and those above the impact zone were trapped. Her family never received a DNA identification. “It was devastating, and everybody was really in shock,” Elliott says. “We couldn’t pro-
cess that it happened.” Elliott remembers the memorial service, held around two weeks later, as “a reality point”, when the family was beginning to understand that she was not coming home. For Arlene and Elliott’s parents, Nicholas and Ronny Joseph, the death of their daughter came more than half a century after they had survived the Holocaust. Nicholas, who was born in Romania in 1921, had been studying medicine when anti-Jewish laws forced him from his education. He later spent two-and-a-half years in forced labour in occupied Russia, under Hungarian supervision, digging trenches and building roads. Elliott recalls his father describing being made to walk along roads looking for unexploded mines. Ronny grew up in Transylvania, in a region that had been part of Romania before coming under Hungarian rule during the war. She was deported in 1944 during the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews and survived alongside two sisters and two aunts. Elliott says they were eventually sent to a subcamp of Auschwitz, where they worked in a factory. Her mother was murdered. Nicholas and Ronny eventually made their lives in the United States. Elliott grew up in a country which he regarded very differently from the Europe his parents had known. His father was never so certain. “My father always told me that what happened in Europe, the Holocaust, could happen here,” Elliott said in an interview recorded around the first anniversary of 11 September. “I dismissed it as absurd.” “I grew up in this country,
10 September 2026 Jewish News
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25th anniversary of 9/11 / Special Report and I believed in institutions of freedom and liberty,” he says now. “We’re far distant from Europe and the Middle East, and it just seemed like a safe haven.” His sister’s murder changed that. “It happened here, and unfortunately, he was right,” Elliott says. “It can happen anywhere.” Nicholas had lost almost his entire family during the Holocaust. Yet in the recording made a year after 11 September, he described Arlene’s death as “the biggest blow, more so than the Holocaust and the communist era that I lived through.” Elliott says his father had tried to explain the difference. His parents had been young during the Holocaust, when catastrophe was unfolding around an entire community. Decades later, they had built a family in America and reached an age when they expected their children to outlive them. “Losing your parents is something that you’re always preparing for,” Elliott says. “You never expect to lose a child. And for me, you never expect to lose a sibling.” For Elliott, there was also the speed of it. “From a moment where life was normal, in one moment it was changed,” he says. “I always say it’s the before and the after.” Ronny had spoken to Elliott about the Holocaust from an early age. “I was haunted by the knowledge of what people are really like,” he says. “It took away my innocence.” But he also grew up hearing
how his mother, her sisters and aunts had survived by staying together and sharing what little food they had. “When I heard the stories of survival, the survival was based on kindness and helping each other and staying together as a family,” Elliott says. “What I learned was … you try to repair the world with acts of kindness. Even though it’s futile, that’s all you can do.” After Arlene was killed, there was a period when the family struggled to speak about her. Elliott found the silence particularly difficult. “That was the hardest thing, to pretend like she never existed,” he said in the recording made around a year after her death. Over time, her name returned to family conversations. One of her daughters might mention something their mother would have liked or remember something she had done. “If you keep someone alive by recounting their memories, while you’re thinking of them, in a sense, they continue to be alive in your heart and in your mind,” Elliott says. Arlene’s death also influenced the documentary projects Elliott chose to support. After 11 worshippers were murdered at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, he contacted filmmaker Trish Adlesic and suggested making a film. A Tree of Life would focus not on the gunman but on the families living with what he had done. “It’s all about the impact it had on the family,” Elliott says. “There is the personal cost of
Memorial war showing those killed on 9/11
The twin towers burning on the morning of 11 September, 2001
each individual life being lost. I wanted people to connect.” He has since supported other documentaries dealing with antisemitism and Jewish history, including Holding Liat, about the family of Liat Beinin Atzili following her abduction on 7 October, and Righteous Road Trip, about non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. For Elliott, the same focus on individual lives matters when talking about 11 September. He
objects to the description of the Twin Towers having simply “collapsed”. “They didn’t collapse,” he says. “They were destroyed in an act of malicious murder and terrorism.” “The mind kind of can’t really process a tragedy on a large scale,” he adds. “If you focus on one story and one person’s life, people can appreciate that and be moved by it.” For most of Elliott’s life, there was one place at the centre of his family’s history that he chose not to visit. He grew up hearing his mother’s accounts of the Holocaust and later became involved in editing a book about the horrors of Auschwitz. But it was only when he turned 70, two years ago, that he finally went there himself. From the watchtower at Birkenau, he saw the scale of the site that years of reading had been unable to convey. “You cannot appreciate it unless you go there,” he says. Elliott described finally being there as “cathartic” - “the victim returning to the scene of the crime”. “With all the stories I heard growing up, it was as if I were there.” There is another place connected to his family’s history that Elliott has visited very differently. He and his relatives have returned to the World Trade Centre site every year since the attacks. The first time was only weeks after 11 September, when the ruins were still smouldering. This September, Elliott will
return for the 25th anniversary. In the recording made around the first anniversary, his father tried to put into words the absence of a daughter whose remains had never been returned. “She just, I guess, disintegrated into thin air,” Nicholas said. “Therefore, she’s always around us.” Nicholas died in 2006 and Ronny ten years later. The three young daughters Arlene left behind are now women with careers and families of their own. Her eldest became a dentist and has two children who are now at university. Her middle daughter works with autistic children in the state school system, later married and has a child as well as three stepchildren. Her youngest works in early childhood development and is also married. Their mother never got to see any of it. What Elliott can still describe are the details of the life she had already built: studying law while raising three daughters, the journeys into Manhattan, the friends who each believed they were her best friend and the daily calls between a brother and sister checking where the other had got to in the traffic. “Every life is sacred, every life is important, every life is essential,” he says. At 8.44am on 11 September 2001, Arlene Fried was sitting at her desk on the 104th floor of the North Tower. Someone she barely knew wanted career advice. Arlene called her back.
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Jewish News 10 September 2026
News / West Bank violence
Top UK envoy quizzed on settlement violence by Lee Harpin @lmharpin
Israel’s most senior diplomat in the UK faced tough scrutiny at Sunday’s Board of Deputies plenary meeting, as he was pressed to explain why Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government is not doing more to tackle “appalling” settler violence in the West Bank. Christian Cantor, current chargé d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in London, acknowledged “there are concerns regarding the extent to which that violence, those violent actions, are being addressed by the Israeli authorities”. But he added: “The violence you are focusing on – it’s not that it doesn’t exist; it does. “But the violence is also broader, and Israelis are under attack.” He continued, “I totally understand that this reality is independent of the other reality, but de facto, the level of enforcement that is required in order to deal with those issues is such that sometimes it’s very, very difficult.” The Israeli official added: “I do share those concerns that you’re raising, and obviously they are conveyed all the time back home. All
I can say is that we all hope that those efforts will lead to a cessation of those actions.” Cantor reflected on the “Israeli psyche” in the aftermath of the 7 October Hamas attacks, urging Deputies to show the same compassion towards Israel’s efforts to tackle settler violence as they do towards the UK government’s attempts to fight antisemitism at home. The diplomat also addressed forthcoming UK government sanctions, saying: “We’ll have to go probably through difficult weeks and months before we’ll come up again, hopefully with an improved and better relationship between Israel and the UK. “We’re expecting next week, in the coming days, some measures that are going to be imposed on Israel,” he added. “I’m afraid that it’s going to happen, and also, what probably will happen is that my government will retaliate, and this is something we’re very much concerned has the potential to draw us into a cycle of tit for tat, hopefully limited in time and magnitude.” Cantor said he had raised concerns with counterparts in London, warning that “prediction statements that are not necessarily intended to create incitement or violence could
Christian Cantor
have the potential... to create a very dangerous dynamic” which could see Jewish communities and Israeli embassies abroad targeted. Cantor also acknowledged some diaspora Jews are angry at Israeli government policies and their impact on communities worldwide. “I do understand that there are differences in policies between some factions or some parts
in the Jewish diaspora and the current government in Israel; we respect those critics. “We hear them. We convey them back to Jerusalem, and I think that for many – not all, but for many – there are also good answers.” Addressing Israel’s failure to send a new ambassador to replace the now long-departed Tzipi Hotovely, Cantor said: “I was an ambassador myself, and I understand what it means when a country does not have an ambassador, but rather an acting ambassador.” Hotovely’s replacement, Tzachi Braverman, had been approved by the UK but his appointment has been postponed since he now faces two police investigations in Israel. “We are very much aware of the need for an official ambassador serving here; we understand the symbolic representation of the state of Israel could be much more significant,” Cantor added. “Having said that, I can reassure you any engagement the state of Israel or the embassy has to make vis-à-vis the British or the UK authorities is being addressed and being done. “The fact an ambassador is not now here does not undermine any of our actions that are needed with the UK government.”
ROSENBERG CONFIRMS BID FOR SECOND TERM be putting himself Phil Rosenberg conforward to serve firmed his intena second term”. tion to stand for Ahead of a second term as the meeting, Board of Deputies an anonymous president at a pleemail, ostensibly nary meeting where from nine depuan anonymous group Phil ties, was distribof deputies attempted Rosenberg uted, with a list of to undermine his authority – a move that was questions it claimed Rosenberg had failed to answer. It widely condemned. unsubstantiated Rosenberg was roundly included applauded as he told Sun- allegations around conflicts day’s Board meeting he “will of interest and referred to
Rosenberg’s attempt to turn his role into a paid one. At Sunday’s meeting, deputies lined up to condemn the anonymous email. Jeremy Sher, deputy for UK Lawyers For Israel, said: “The President has done an outstanding job in the role”, while Jerry Lewis, Deputy for Hampstead Synagogue, added: “This Board does not do anonymous. “The nine should identify themselves – or clear out.”
that the current demands of the role mean that it is accessible only to those who have sufficient personal wealth to either retire or take an effective multi-year sabbatical from their job.” Arguing that the role, which has been unpaid since the organisation was founded in 1760, has become “effectively a full-time – or more than full-time – post” in the modern age, Rosenberg said: “Personally, I am currently just about managing with the occasional pieces of consul-
tancy work, drawing on savings and support (financial, emotional, and, in gifts of time) from family and friends. “However, when speaking to deputies and communal colleagues about the role, I often hear people say, ‘I couldn’t afford to be president/an honorary officer’. “I think that it is harmful for the organisation, and the community as a whole, that the role is seen to be inaccessible to many people who would otherwise be worthy candidates.”
Talks on paid president Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg has confirmed the communal organisation is considering making his role a paid post for the first time. Rosenberg was responding to questions from Deputies ahead of Sunday’s plenary as he explained: “Our honorary officers are considering how to make the presidency more accessible to a wider range of people. “We want the best candidates from across the community and are concerned
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ARE WE LIVING IN A POST-ZIONIST ERA? The Zionist dream for the creation of the State of Israel was finally fulfilled in 1948 - yet nearly eight decades on we continue to hold on dearly to the ‘Z’ word. Simon Sebag Montefiore and Anthony Julius have differing views on whether it’s time to move beyond a word which continues to evoke such passion and pride around the globe.
In this exclusive debate organised by Jewish News and a central London Synagogue, the pair will debate whether it is time to recognise that we’re living in a post-Zionist era or, at a time when the ‘Z’ word is both misunderstood and maligned globally, is it time to double down and hold the word closer than ever.
DATE: 5th October 2026 LOCATION: Central London venue
Simon Sebag vs. Anthony Julius Montefiore TICKETS: £15 https://shorturl.at/deDFT
Chair: Hadley Freeman
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Jewish News 10 September 2026
News / Simon Schama / Palestine Action / Nazi auction
‘Accusing Israel of genocide is shameful’ Historian and professor Sir Simon Schama has warned in a keynote speech delivered at the annual Holocaust Educational Trust appeal dinner : “We will not have our job done until anybody uttering the notion that Israel is committing genocide is made to be ashamed for doing so,” writes Lee Harpin. Addressing a packed room of government ministers, Holocaust survivors, and communal leaders, the 81-year-old television presenter highlighted the dire situation facing Jews worldwide, noting: “We, the victims of the greatest genocide the world has ever seen, are being called perpetrators of genocide.” As the audience at the central London venue applauded, Schama added: “This is a profound lie.” Reflecting on his academic career as a professor of history and art history at Columbia University, Schama recalled: “And when I
hear, as I did outside my office ‘Hey, professor, you can’t hide. You’ve committed genocide’, I did go outside and tell the facts. We are in the facts business in this room.” Shama noted the rise of Holocaust denial in the United States and the recent success of the AfD party in a German election and urged government ministers to acknowledge how the evil of antisemitism remains rife in British schools and wider cultural life. “We are in a very, very dark place,” observed Schama, before addressing the rise of “inversion” and allegations of “genocide”. “We will not have our job done until anybody uttering the notion that Israel is committing genocide is made to be ashamed for doing so,” he reiterated. “That should be said in schools and universities.” The historian continued: “You all know this happened in a genocide – 18,000 Jews
Sir Simon Schama at the HET dinner
were shot in a single morning on November 3, 1943, at Leeinnek. Thirty-two thousand Jews were shot in a day and a half at Babiyar. “Between July 27 and November 1942, one and a half million Jews were murdered, mostly by shooting, not by other means. Which is, as they say in social science departments, a kill
rate of 434,000 Jews a month.” Schama conceded that Israel’s war in Gaza had resulted in a “catastrophic tragedy” for the Palestinian people, acknowledging: “The enormity of one child’s life lost is a catastrophe, is a tragedy.” However, he asserted that the allegations of “famine” in Gaza had proven to be “a lie”. “There was no famine,” said Schama. Others speakers included HET chief executive Karen Pollock, who also warned about use of language once used only to describe the horrors of the Holocaust being used inappropritely today. She said: “To the survivors here today, we have listened to you, we have learnt from you, and we will never let you down. “No child should grow up not knowing the human impact of radical antisemitism. It is why the survivors choose us to help amplify their story.”
PA ACTIVISTS IN APPEAL NAZI LOTS UP FOR AUCTION AGAIN Four Palestine Action activists who caused £1.2m in damage to an Israelbased defence firm’s UK factory will seek to challenge their sentences in the Court of Appeal, their solicitor said. Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 24, Leona Kamio, 31, and Fatema Rajwani, 22, used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment
at the Elbit Systems site near Bristol in August 2024. Corner, a former student at Oxford, struck police officer Kate Evans twice on the back with a seven pound sledgehammer, leaving her with a fractured spine. The Court of Appeal said an application for permission to appeal has been received and is being prepared.
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An SS dagger and death’s head ring were among a number of Nazi lots put up for sale by a Buckinghamshire auction house despite Jewish communal organisations, alerted by Jewish News, describing the proceedings as “sinister”. The latest offers from Amersham Auction Rooms, which apologised in 2019 after a similar
sale on the anniversary of D-Day, included weapons, badges and armbands emblazoned with SS and Nazi insignia. Among the 319 items listed under “19th & 20th Century Collectable Items, Silver, Jewellery and Works of Art & Furnishings” were an inscribed German Nazi student dagger; an inscribed
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German SS dagger, and a German white metal SS death’s head ring, valued between £100-£150. Other items for sale included Lot 254, a collection, including some copies, of various German military badges including the notorious swastika symbol of the Nazi party, which had an estimated top bid of £100.
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Twin towns / Jane’s memorial / News
Haifa twinning review ‘looks predetermined’ Hackney Council’s review of its twinning relationship with Haifa is “predetermined”, with “Haifa’s fate seemingly decided before the process intended to determine it had even begun”, according to local Jewish groups, writes Michelle Rosenberg. The concerns are expressed in a joint letter sent to the mayor of Hackney by local organisations Hackney Anglo-Israel Friendship Association (HAIFA) and London Jewish Forum, and supported by national Jewish organisations including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Hackney Greens in favour of Haifa detwinning the Jewish Leadership Council. Jewish community organisations quesIn July, Hackney Council, which has been controlled by the Green Party since May, tioned how open that process can be when the council has already agreed its preferred outvoted to cut ties with the Israeli city. Subsequently, the mayor , the Green come for Haifa. They argue that importing a “polarised Party’s Zoe Garbett, wrote to Yona Yahav, the mayor of Haifa, informing him of the international debate” into local community intention to break the twinning agreement relations risks inflaming tensions in the borough, which is home to London’s secondbetween the two cities. The council has made its final decision largest Jewish community. Amid rising antisemitism in London, they subject to engagement with interested parties and a full impact assessment. It has also warn the impact on Hackney’s Jewish residents launched a public consultation and estab- and on community cohesion has been given too lished a cross-party working group to review little weight. The organisations have cautioned against ending the relationship to make a politits twinning relationships.
ical statement about the Israeli government at the expense of civil society links between the two both cities. They have also urged mayor Garbett to accept mayor Yahav’s invitation to visit Haifa and see the city first hand before making a decision. Martin Sugarman, chair of the Hackney Anglo-Israel Friendship Association, said: “Those of us who have spent decades building the relationship between Hackney and Haifa are deeply dismayed by this attempt to end it. The twinning has brought people from different backgrounds together and created lasting relationships between the two cities.” He added that breaking those connections “to make a political statement about the Israeli government helps nobody in Hackney or Haifa and contributes nothing to the search for peace”. Amanda Bowman, co-chair of the London Jewish Forum, said: “It is particularly troubling that the council has agreed in principle to terminate the Haifa relationship while the review, consultation and equalities assessment intended to inform that decision are still under way.”
MISSIONARY MEMORIALISED AT AUSCHWITZ The name of a Scottish missionary murdered by the Nazis after caring for Jewish schoolgirls in Budapest has been added to a special memorial wall at Auschwitz. Jane Haining is recognised in a section devoted to hundreds of prisoners for whom no registration photographs were taken. Miss Haining, who grew up near Dunscore in Dumfries and Galloway, was the matron at a Church of Scotland school in Budapest, Hungary, from 1932-1944, and cared for both Jewish and Christian girls. She helped keep children safe until she was arrested in 1944 and was jailed in Budapest before being transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. She died there on 17 July, six months before the camp was liberated in 1945. Her name has now been added to a section of the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum’s main exhibition.
Jane Haining’s family at the memorial
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Alan Senitt / News
20 years of heartache: Alan’s family on killer’s release bid The family of murdered Jewish community leader Alan Senitt have spoken of their continuing anguish after a US court rejected a bid by his killer to secure early prison release, writes Richard Ferrer. Jeffrey Rice, who murdered the 27-yearold Londoner in Washington DC in July 2006, challenged a decision that reduced his original 52-year prison sentence to 37 years. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has now upheld that ruling, bringing to an end more than three years of legal battles for Alan’s family. Alan’s mum Karen Senitt told Jewish News: “For more than three years we have had to revisit the worst thing that has ever happened to our family. “Every application, appeal, court date and period of waiting brings Alan’s murder and the trauma surrounding it back to the forefront of our lives.” Alan, a former chairman of the Union of Jewish Students and leading advocate for interfaith relations, was attacked while protecting a female friend in the district of Georgetown. The court recorded that Rice forced Alan to the ground while accomplice Kristopher Piper attacked his friend. When Alan turned towards her after she cried out, Rice stabbed him multiple times. Rice had earlier told accomplices he was “going to stab or cut somebody”, according to the judgment. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed, four robberies and firearms offences and was sentenced in 2007 to 52 years. Piper received 37 years. Rice later sought a sentence reduction and immediate release under Washington DC’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act. The lower court found he no longer presented a danger to the public and had demonstrated rehabilitation, reducing his
sentence by 15 years. But Judge Neal Kravitz refused to order his immediate release. Rice appealed that refusal. On 13 August, the three-judge Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, meaning he is expected to remain imprisoned until 2038. Karen said: “Nothing can take away our heartache or the mental anguish this process has caused us, but we feel we have gained some justice for Alan. If another application is made, I will continue to fight for him as long as I live.” Alan’s siblings Emma and James said: “For us, it has always been about Alan. He doesn’t get the opportunity to ask for his life back. He doesn’t get another chance at the future that was taken from him at just 27 years old. Our lives were completely shattered, our hearts smashed to pieces and all our future plans wiped out. “We have often said that our dad died (Jack Senitt passed away in 2011) of a broken heart. Of course, nobody can ever truly know that, but as his children we saw the enormous toll that losing Alan took on him. He was never the same after Alan died. He was our big brother. “He was funny, passionate, determined and sometimes incredibly annoying, as big brothers are supposed to be. He was also someone who cared enormously about his community and believed that young people could make a genuine difference. We will always fight for justice for Alan, however many times we are asked to do so.” Twenty years after his murder, more than 2,000 young people have graduated from the Alan Senitt Upstanders Leadership Programme, established in his memory. Emma and James added: “Twenty years later, Alan is still making a difference. His name is still being spoken, his values are still being passed on and his legacy continues through every young person who takes part in the programme.”
Alan Senitt
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News / Holocaust Memorial / AJEX march
First look at UK Shoah memorial The first glimpse of what is envisaged for the long-awaited Holocaust Memorial next to the UK parliament was unveiled at Portcullis House on Monday – with Holocaust Memorial Foundation joint chairs Lord Pickles and Ed Balls vowing “concrete steps” would happen soon, writes Jenni Frazer. The taster exhibition, What Did Britain Know About the Holocaust?, was unveiled together with a scale model of the proposed Holocaust building in Victoria Gardens, and takes as its starting point the assumption Britain really knew what was going on only after the liberation of Belsen in April 1945. But as UK Holocaust Memorial project historian Martin Winstone pointed out, much was known at least three years earlier, from continuing newspaper accounts – shown in the exhibition and reflecting reports from across the country – to a major declaration on 17 December 1942 by Allied governments.
This condemned the Holocaust and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice once the Nazis were defeated. The exhibition will tour the UK in the coming months, initially in the parliaments or assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and then to other cities. Winstone said: “This came about in the wake of the passage of the Holocaust Memorial Act earlier this year. We thought it was the right time to begin to share some of the research we’ve been doing, and to start a national conversation about this history, and why it matters to us.” Some of the opposition to the proposed memorial had been from those who asked what the Holocaust had to do with them, but he said the exhibition “very much showed” the Holocaust was a British concern throughout the war years: “We show not only how much was known by government, but also by the British people.” In fact, although for much of the war British
Ed Balls, left, with Lord Pickles
combatants did not serve in Europe, there was a prisoner of war camp close to Auschwitz and some British PoWs served alongside Jewish prisoners in the IG Farben chemical factory. Jews living in Britain were also all too aware of what was happening, Winstone said. “In December 1942 there were services of mourning in synagogues all round the country and, for example, in Liverpool’s Greenbank synagogue
there were 1,500 people attending. For many of those, it was not just mourning for Jews as Jews but mourning the loss of parents, siblings … in other words, an immense family tragedy.” Among those who raised the matter of the systematic murder of European Jewry was the publisher Victor Gollancz, Winstone said. He issued a pamphlet in 1942, a bestseller called Let My People Go, calling on British people to “mobilise and put pressure on their politicians to do more to save Jewish lives”. The permanent exhibition will include testimony from Nazi perpetrators, at least 600 of whom were allowed into Britain after the war. Also at the launch was Dr Robbie Williams, chief executive of the USC Shoah Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg. This body will share survivor testimony with the UK centre which Lord Pickles predicted is likely to become the most visited Holocaust centre in the world. • What did Britain know? See page 28
CABLE STREET REMEMBERED FOR 2026 AJEX PARADE AJEX is calling on veterans, families and members of the Jewish community to save the date and join this year’s annual remembrance parade and ceremony at the Cenotaph, Whitehall, on Sunday 15 November at 2pm. With the theme British. Jewish. Proud, this year’s parade, marking 90 years since the Battle of Cable Street, will honour the thou-
sands of Jewish men and women who have served and fought in the armed forces. The Cable Street anniversary is particularly significant for AJEX, given its longstanding connection with the Jewish East End and the generations who stood against fascism and later went on to serve in the armed forces during the Second World War.
As part of this year’s commemorations, AJEX is also appealing for veterans, families and members of the community to come forward with memories, photographs, letters and family stories connected to Cable Street and the Jewish East End. AJEX chief executive Fiona Palmer said: “This year’s parade is about honouring our past
and strengthening our future. At a time when it is more important than ever to stand together, we want the Jewish community to come out in force, remember those who served and show that we remain British, Jewish and proud.” • To register and march, contact AJEXRemem bers@ajex.org.uk
Will you give Ugandan Jews a fresh start this Rosh Hashanah?
Many members of Uganda’s Jewish community are trapped in poverty, struggling to feed their families and give their children a better future. The highest form of Tzedakah is helping someone find a job or start a business. (Maimonides). Through our TransFARMation programme, we give people the skills and support to build successful farming businesses and lift their families out of poverty. Will you give Ugandan Jews a fresh start this Rosh Hashanah?
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Jewish News’ Property 40 Under 40 reception / News
Some of the property industry’s brightest young talent came together in London on Monday to celebrate the inaugural Jewish News’ Property 40 Under 40 list. The reception brought together those recognised on the list alongside the judges, sponsors and senior figures from across the property world. The event was held at The Long House, an award-winning contemporary home in St John’s Wood, London, currently on the market by list co-sponsor DDRE Global for more than £15 million. More than 250 nominations were received for the list, which recognises Jacob Loftus, General Projects 40 of the most talented and influential Jewish professionals working across the property sector, spanning much the individuals all seem to be development, investment, agency, cross-pollinating with one another, and all very much involved in one law, design and technology. The final 40 were selected by another’s growth. This to me is one an esteemed judging panel com- of the most special things about prising some of the most senior and our community – it recognises the respected figures in the property importance of supporting those around them, in both business and industry. Among them was Jacob Loftus, charitable endeavours. And hopefounder and chief executive of fully this wonderful group will all General Projects, who was voted continue to do the same as they progress through their careers number one on the list. At 38, Loftus has led the acqui- and hopefully all become a new sition and development of more generation of leaders.” than £2.5bn of real estate, building Fellow listee Benji Weinberger of a career combining commercial DDRE Global, who helped arrange the venue for the event, said: success with innovation, sustainability and social impact. “It was a real privilege to be involved in bringing together He said: “I’m incredibly such an impressive group of honoured, humbled and people from the Jewish News grateful to be recognised in this way amongst Property 40 under 40 list. “The evening was all about such an esteemed group building meaningful connecof people. In truth, tions, sharing ideas and creall success is a shared ating opportunities to crossendeavour and I very pollinate business within the much see this award as community. Hopefully the a reflection of the comstart of many new bined brilliant effort, collaborations and energy and talent of the relationships.” team I work with every The Property 40 day at General Projects. Under 40 was sponsored by “What I found most DDRE Global, Fusion Group special about the 40 Candice and Patron Capital while under 40 group is how Krieger
Photos by Stephen Swain
Building on excellence
Guests at Monday’s reception
the reception was sponsored by The Harkalm Group, Mishcon de Reya and Sir Stuart Lipton. Adam Harvey, co-founder and CEO of The Harkalm Group, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to sponsor the 40 Under 40 Property List event. Recognising and supporting emerging talent is vital to the future of our industry and we are incredibly proud to play a part in celebrating the next generation of property leaders. “Thank you to Jewish News for inviting us to collaborate and congratulations to all the listees, with a special mention to Jacob Loftus on taking the top spot.” Guests enjoyed an evening of networking and celebration, recognising both the achievements of those named on the list and the strength of
Top: David Dangoor (left) with Adam Harvey of the Harkalm Group. Above: Debbie Ingram (left) with Louisa Walters and Canice Krieger
the next generation of Jewish property leaders. Judge Debbie Ingram said: “What an incredible amount of talent there was to choose from and it was such a pleasure learning about each and every one. It was extremely difficult to decide who made the final
40 and going forward we are all committed to finding more female property talent.” The 40 Under 40 was dedicated to the memory of Nigel Henry, cofounder of Fusion Group, who served as both a sponsor and judge before he passed away earlier this year. Nigel was widely respected across the property industry and was a passionate supporter of emerging talent. Despite being unwell, he remained determined to take part in the judging process and cast his votes. Jewish News business and tech editor Candice Krieger, who created the list alongside co-chairs David Ereira and Andrew Gilbert, said: “The response exceeded expectations. It was wonderful to bring everyone together and celebrate the list. Co-chair David Ereira said: “The list showed just how much talent and entrepreneurship there is within our community. It was a privilege to celebrate their achievements and recognise the next generation of leaders shaping the property industry.” The Property 40 Under 40 is the latest in the Jewish News series of Young Business Lists, following the success of its Creatives and Media and Tech and Digital editions, with more to come.
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ENSURE THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY BY LEAVING A GIFT TO ONE OF OUR CHARITY PARTNERS IN YOUR WILL
www.jewishlegacy.org.uk 020 3375 6248 gina@jewishlegacygiving.org.uk Jewish Legacy Giving is a registered charity, number 1144193
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Medical breakthrough / German schools / World News
Israeli scientists set for first spinal cord implant The “holy grail” of orthopaedic research – helping paralysed patients with spinal injuries to walk again – may have come a step closer, thanks to scientists at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the biotech company Matricelf, writes Jenni Frazer. New technology developed by Matricelf, the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Centre and the Sagol Centre for Regenerative Medicine at TAU will enable “the world’s first implantation of an engineered spinal cord in a paralysed patient”. The Loewenstein team is looking at selecting suitable patients for the treatment, and collecting blood samples for the production of personalised neural implants. This is a significant step toward implementing Matricelf ’s technology in humans, to test its effectiveness in enabling paraplegics to walk again. Ultimately, the aim is to implant an engineered spinal cord in a patient. Matricelf estimates that if everything progresses as planned, it will be possible to complete the process and begin treatment of a selected patient in the first half of 2027. The scientific breakthrough is based on a revolutionary organ-engineering technology developed at TAU by Professor Tal Dvir of the Sagol Centre for Regenerative Biotechnology,
Matricelf’s chief scientist Prof Tal Dvir
who also serves as Matricelf’s chief scientist. A personalised neural implant is produced from the patient’s own cells and tissues — a kind of biological “spare part” for replacing the damaged tissue — and then implanted in the area of the spinal cord injury. By using the patient’s own cells and tissues, the researchers intend to reduce the risk of implant rejection and improve its integration into the body. The Loewenstein centre, a world leader for the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries, is responsible for the collaboration’s clinical aspects, including the identification and evaluation of patients and supporting
Briti s
ud. ro
i w s h. P e J . h
them throughout the process. At the same time, Matricelf emphasises the collaboration with the centre and the beginning of the patient identification process do not constitute approval to begin the clinical trial or to perform implantations in humans. Officials point out treatment can begin only after all scientific and regulatory milestones have been completed and final approval has been received from the Israeli Ministry of Health. Dr Dianne Michaeli, deputy director of the Orenstein Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Department at Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Centre, said: “Our department is a leader in this field in Israel, with extensive experience in treating people with complex spinal cord injuries. “Our in-depth familiarity with the patients and their rehabilitation processes enables us to contribute to the identification and evaluation of suitable candidates for the study. “The collaboration with Matricelf connects Loewenstein’s clinical and rehabilitation expertise with innovative regenerative medicine technology, in the hope that in the future it will be possible to offer new treatment options to people living with paralysis due to spinal cord injury.”
JEWISH RELIGIOUS TEXTBOOKS FOR GERMAN SCHOOLS German schools are to receive dedicated Jewish religious education textbooks as part of the curriculum for the first time since the Holocaust. The eight-volume Da’at Hadorot or Knowledge of the Generations series will teach pupils aged 10-16 about subjects including the Torah, Tanach, prayer, Jewish ethics, halachah, festivals and the Jewish life cycle and history. The books have been developed by the Central Council of Jews in Germany with the educational publisher Ernst Klett Verlag and are intended for Jewish religious education in both Jewish and ordinary state schools. Council president Josef Schuster said the project meant Jewish religious education was now “on equal footing with Christian religious subjects”. Until now, teachers have had to rely on a mixture of available resources, including translated primary-school worksheets, an ethics book for older pupils and materials they produced themselves. The next seven Da’at Hadorot volumes in the series are planned to be published at the rate of one a year.
AJEX Remembrance Parade & Ceremony Sunday 15th November 2026 The Cenotaph, Whitehall, 2pm
Honouring generations of Jewish men and women who served and fought for our freedom. Marking 90 years since the Battle of Cable Street and standing proud against antisemitism. HONOURING OUR PAST. STRENGTHENING OUR FUTURE.
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World News / Classroom extremism
Palestinian pupils are given 7 October maths exercises Palestinian Authority schoolchildren as young as nine were given maths exercises based on the 7 October Hamas attacks, including questions about the number of Israelis killed, rockets fired and terrorists sent into Israeli communities, writes Annabel Sinclair. The classroom material was uncovered by Israeli media watchdog Palestinian Media Watch, which found examples posted online by schools run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. At Al-Kuwait Primary Mixed School, pupils were asked to create multiplication problems linked to the attacks just a week after 7 October. One question read: “At least 150 Israelis were killed in one day. What was the number killed in nine days?” Others on Hamas’s armed wing included: “Al-Qassam Brigades launched 150 rockets daily at the occupation’s settlements. How many rockets were launched in nine days?” The exercises also included questions about Palestinians killed in
Schoolgirl: ‘Welcome, October, you are the month of blood’
A maths exercise asks pupils to calculate child ‘martyrs’ in Gaza
Gaza, with teachers praising pupils for referring to them as “martyrs”. Next to a question asking pupils to calculate how many children would be killed over nine days if 150 died each day, a teacher wrote: “May Allah protect you! Wonderful! Mercy and peace to the Martyrs of Gaza.” Another pupil was told: “Excel-
lent! Champion! Our blessings be fulfilled! Mercy and forgiveness to our Martyrs!” The material was posted on school social media accounts shortly after the Hamas-led attack, in which around 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 251 were taken hostage. Separate examples uncovered by Pal-
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estinian Media Watch showed pupils schools delivering poems about the attack during assemblies in the days that followed. At Kharas Girls’ Elementary School in Hebron, a young pupil described the “honour” and “pride” she felt after waking on 7 October. Another pupil at Shweikeh Mixed Elementary School read a poem which said: “Only blood do we see as an ally, And we will cool the fire in our heart with the body parts and screams
of soldiers.” It continued: “Open your door, we are death, or close it – we will get to you, the target is identified.” Similar activities were reported at schools in Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Nablus and Jenin. Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Jerusalem Post: “The Palestinian Authority has made the glorification of the murder of Jews and Israelis so deeply ingrained in its institutions that when Israelis were tortured, burned alive, raped and more than 1,100 were murdered on 7 October, PA educators understood this ‘success’ as something demanding extraordinary celebration.” Marcus called for sweeping changes within the authority’s education system, arguing that promised reforms would be meaningless without changes to its leadership and oversight of schools. The revelations come as Palestinian Authority-run schools are operating for only three days a week amid a severe financial crisis.
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Editorial comment and letters to the editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...
Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat come in Friday night 7.10pm
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A FAVOURABLE IMPRESSION
This troubles me most. Lobbying is, at its heart, an exercise in anticipating how one’s own gestures will be read by those receiving them. Every honour extended to a Prime Minister is also a signal to him about who supports what he does. If our leaders had paused to ask what such warmth would communicate once his government’s direction became clear, they might have seen they were not building goodwill, but issuing him a kosher stamp, telling him our community stood behind a policy that in fact threatened Israel’s security and standing. Our communal leadership’s instinct for graciousness was not matched by an instinct for consequence. Its fawning gave cover to a direction of travel we should have been resisting from the start. The question that remains is not really about blame, but capacity. What do we do now, and, the harder question, are the leaders currently in place equipped to ask it honestly?
Shimon Cohen, By email
MORE FALSE ASSUMPTIONS
I was pleasantly surprised and amazed at the total deference of Angela Rayner in her dress and speech (so unlike the usual brash Ange)when she attended and spoke at the memorial in Heaton Park synagogue earlier this week. Her demeanour and words were so welcome to the shell-shocked community. May the current government now follow by action.
The British government, in its infinite stupidity, made false assumptions about Israel yet again this week which, by all accounts, are going to backfire spectacularly both on the economy and on Britain’s standing on the world stage. This Labour government hasn’t stopped attempting to chastise Israel. Prejudice appears to run deep in its DNA. Jewish people are no longer the whipping boys for antisemites or others who think Israel can be manipulated. Mr Burnham should stick to domestic issues as he originally outlined instead of making more international problems for our beleaguered country.
B.Brodkin, London
Simon Weinberg, Dorset
THE RACISM OF LOWERED EXPECTATIONS So Zack Polanski’s party is now advancing a motion at its annual conference affirming Palestinians’ right to “resistance and liberation... by all available means” – a truly horrifying statement in the context of the tragedy of 7 October – explicitly including armed struggle in the supporting material, if I am not mistaken, as the “natural response to occupation”?
Is it only me who sees the problem here? When the proPalestinian left frames terrorism as something that “Israeli occupation forces Palestinians into”, it is the simple rehashing an old, racist stereotype from the 19th and 20th centuries: that of the “not-fully-morally-developed native” from our overseas colonies, incapable of making fully independent moral choices.
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Continued from page 3 But we also reject the ludicrous denials from some quarters that domestic considerations have played no part in this at all. If only the UK had previously demonstrated an ability to answer some of the most difficult questions regarding a two-state solution – such as the question of sovereignty of some of Judaism’s holiest sites – perhaps we could regard this next step with relative equanimity. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. As part of its volte face in September 2025 in its decision to recognise a Palestinian state, the UK decided to recognise it based on the 1949 armistice line, meaning suddenly it was UK policy that the Old City of Jerusalem – including some of Judaism’s holiest sites – should be under Palestinian sovereignty. Despite repeated requests for the FCDO to further elaborate on this, vagueness appeared to be a calculated aim. The important thing for the government appeared to be announcing recognition of a Palestinian state – never mind the specifics. Likewise, if the United Kingdom married its regular criticism of Israeli settler extremism with condemnation of Palestinian extremism, this would be of some comfort. But the British state is silent on the latter. For example, last month it became clear Palestinian Authority schools were again teaching questions designed to glorify murder of Jews. Children were given a maths problem: “At least 150 Israelis were killed in 1 day. What was the number killed in 9 days?” In another example, Fatah – led by Mahmoud Abbas, the aging President of the Palestinian Authority, has a society for female students at West Bank universities, called the “Sisters of Dalal” Committee, named after Dalal Mughrabi, a female PLO terrorist who led a raid into Israel from Lebanon which killed 48 civilians – men, women and children. Mughrabi, killed in the attack, personally took part in the murders. Palestinian terror attacks in the West Bank have killed British citizens - Lucy, Maia and Rina Dee were murdered in April 2023. Despite his lengthy statement to the House of Commons, Mr Miliband appeared to have had no room to acknowledge any of this. The two-state solution, which this paper supports, as does a narrow majority of the UK Jewish community - the number dropped drastically after 7 October – depends on there being partners for peace. The British government appears to have been unwilling to wait for a couple of months to see whether such a partner would emerge on the Israeli side, as it yet could. When it comes to the Palestinian side – including questions as to whom exactly will succeed the PA’s nonagenarian dictator – the UK appears to have no answers at all.
The Chief Rabbi, Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council deserve real credit for their efforts to head off UK government sanctions against Israel. They lobbied hard, and they were right to try. But the sanctions came anyway; the Yachad view prevailed in Whitehall. That failure deserves an honest reckoning with how we got here. It was not a surprise. Labour’s election manifesto said a government it formed would recognise a Palestinian state. Yet our communal leadership chose to invest warmth and its access in Labour: dinners, platforms, photographs, hugs and praise. One has to ask, gently but seriously: did our leaders not think this through? Once a Palestinian state exists in the eyes of the British government, how could that government tolerate its territory being held by what it would now regard as a foreign occupying power? Sanctions, condemnation, restriction: none of this was hard to foresee. Warnings went unheeded, and the embraces continued.
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I believe every sane person should reject the idea that members of any ethnic or religious group are, by their very nature, less capable of making sound moral decisions. Who exactly gave the Green Party members proposing and supporting this motion the right to deny Palestinians full moral and intellectual responsibility?
David Frencel, By email
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Opinion
Israel needs our loyalty – it also needs honesty RABBI CHARLEY BAGINSKY & RABBI JOSH LEVY
J
udaism has a word for difficult truth spoken within a relationship: tochecha, rebuke. “You shall surely rebuke your fellow,” Torah teaches, placing this alongside the prohibition against hating another in our hearts. Jewish rebuke is not denunciation from safe distance, but what we owe people to whom we remain bound. This is written in that spirit. We know the instinct to close ranks when Israel is attacked, the fear that criticism will become de-legitimisation and the knowledge, born of bitter experience, that antisemitism rarely remains rhetorical. Love without capacity for rebuke is not loyalty, but abdication. Many British Jews were not silent when Israel’s government came for the courts. We understood loving Israel did not require defending its government. We need to recover that clarity.
Mickey Gitzin of the New Israel Fund recently wrote about witnessing dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank by Jewish settlers, sometimes actively or passively backed by the IDF: “I am angry, I am ashamed.” Those words model the profoundly Jewish refusal to look away from wrongdoing committed by our own. The Israel Lands Authority has published tenders for 1,234 housing units in E1. Daniel Seidemann, the Jerusalem geopolitical expert, describes this as fragmenting the territory of a future Palestinian state. In the wake of Britain imposing sanctions for settlement expansion, much communal discussion has understandably focused on the risks of boycott, antisemitism and the danger of measures extending beyond settlements. We share those concerns. We know how quickly criticism of Israel can mutate into something much uglier. We oppose BDS. We would resist indiscriminate measures that delegitimise Israel, harm Palestinians alongside Israelis or obstruct Jewish access to our holiest places.
We must be careful that these real fears do not release us from confronting the policy itself. If every attempt to impose consequences for the actions of the Israeli government is translated immediately into a threat to Jews, antisemitism becomes a word that ends the argument. In doing so, we risk weakening the very language we need when Jews really are threatened. The harder question is what Judaism requires of us when Jews possess power. Jewish philosopher David Hartman understood Jewish power is the necessary answer to Jewish victimhood. However, he also recognised it becomes dangerous when vulnerability creates a permission structure in which moral responsibility recedes whenever Jewish security is invoked. Jewish powerlessness was deadly; Israel’s security remains essential. This is not an argument against Jewish power, but about such power’s purpose and discipline. The Zionism we want to inhabit is one strong enough to confront dispossession rather than provide moral cover for it; able to hear Palestinian vulnerability without denying Jewish vulnerability; capable of
condemning Kahanism, settler violence and settlement expansion not only in principle, but when this carries consequences. Here, too, tochecha must be honest. If proposed British measures are indiscriminate, we should challenge them. If they become BDS by another name, we should oppose them. If they harm Palestinians alongside Israelis or threaten Jewish religious life, we should say so clearly. If every meaningful consequence is unacceptable, however, we must ask whether our support for two states remains a political commitment or has become a comforting piece of communal liturgy. Jewish leadership must continue to ask what threatens us. It must also ask what is being done with Jewish power, what is justified in the name of Jewish security and what we have become willing to tolerate because those responsible are part of our own people. Tochecha is painful precisely because it takes place within a relationship we refuse to abandon. We offer it because we remain bound to Israel, to Zionism, to our community and to one another.
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Opinion
British Jews need to raise their voices about Ben-Gvir VIVIAN WINEMAN FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES
I
had not intended to write about Itamar Ben- Gvir. Not because he is unimportant, he is anything but. As head of security in Israel and the occupied territories, his ideas will have enormous influence. Rather, it was because so much has been written about him there seemed little point in writing anything further. In fact however, he still has a capacity to surprise. He was reported, last month, as saying that Israel should kill a further 30 to 40 people every night in Gaza even if they did not pose an immediate threat. He went on to state that some of the people in Gaza did not deserve to live, and that they were not even people. Since some of the Gazans who he says should be killed do not present a threat, one must ask if there are any people in Gaza who he thinks do deserve to live and if so, what distin-
Itamar Ben-Gvir
guishes them from the others. A liberally minded rabbi described him once as problematic but when questioned admitted that Ben-Gvir’s views were not problematic, but abhorrent. That description runs the risk of stating the obvious. Yet I do not hear very much condemnation of him from the Israeli government or even from within the community. Ben-Gvir, however, is not merely an
unreconstructed racist, he is also a fool. Israel is now accused before the International Court of Justice of committing genocide in Gaza. Her defence is that there is no intent on her part to do so. But if the words of the minister in charge of security are taken at face value then that defence will appear to be compromised. As Talleyrand is reputed to have said about Napoleon’s killing of the Duke d’ Enghien: “C’est plus qu’un crime, c’est une faute”: it was more than a crime, it was a mistake. But there is an even darker side to BenGvir. He has proposed a law that imposes a death penalty for terrorists who kill people, but this will apply only to Palestinian killers, not to Jews, so much for equality before the law. But there is another gruesome detail. He now wishes to construct booths so that onlookers can watch these people being hanged. In this country hangings used to be public events. Crowds would gather at Tyburn (near today’s Marble Arch) to watch the spectacle. Bear baiting also used
to be popular. The sight of living beings suffering clearly appeals to a darker corner of human nature. We have, however, moved beyond that now but it would appear that the relevant minister in this Israeli government has not. Some Western countries have said that they will not meet with Ben-Gvir. Netanyahu has denounced them for this. Let’s hope he changes his mind. If not the British community needs to tell him to do so. It appears that Ben-Gvir is an observant Jew. He wears a kippah and no doubt is punctilious about what he eats that it should be strictly kosher. It might be thought that this mitigates his moral failings. It does not, It makes them worse. By committing these crimes while professing to be an observant Jew he brings shame on our religion and in traditional terms is a chillul hashem. Members of the community and their rabbis should not be content with saying privately that Ben-Gvir is not a nice chap but should denounce him publicly for what he is.
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Opinion
What did Britain know and what did Britain do? ED BALLS & LORD PICKLES
CO-CHAIRS, UK HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
T
he first exhibition previewing content planned for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre focuses on hard and essential questions: what did Britain know about the Holocaust, and what was done with that knowledge? The comforting myth that Britain truly learned about the Holocaust only when British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 is not true. From 1933, the British public could read about Nazi antisemitic laws. Kristallnacht was widely reported. By late 1942, newspapers were describing the systematic murder of Europe’s Jews. The information came through many routes and prime minister Winston Churchill in a minute to foreign secretary Anthony Eden in July 1944 described the
Holocaust as “probably the greatest and most horrible crime ever committed in the whole history of the world”. The crime was recognised. The question is whether recognition was enough. For us, the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre is not just another project. It comes from the heart. We have seen at close hand the care, commitment and determination so many people have brought to it over many years. For us, the centre has always been about more than remembrance. It is about responsibility. We have heard Holocaust survivors and refugees speak with urgency about memory, truth and the danger of indifference. Their voices have shaped this work, and their trust places a profound obligation on all of us. As the number of first-hand witnesses dwindles, that obligation becomes more urgent. We must remember not only what happened to them, but also the lives they rebuilt, the families they raised, the communities they strengthened and the contribution they made to Britain.
That legacy has been brought home to us again by the family of Sir Ben Helfgott MBE, whose life was an extraordinary testament to courage, resilience and service. A member of the original Holocaust Memorial Commission, he spent his life advocating for Holocaust remembrance, education and the need to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten. The Holocaust was driven by antisemitism, enabled by hatred, bureaucracy and dehumanisation and made worse when the world failed to act with sufficient urgency. That is why the planned Memorial and Learning Centre will stand beside Parliament. Its location matters: a statement of the commitment of our democratic institutions, and of the British people, to remembrance, education and the defence of the values that hatred seeks to destroy. This exhibition focuses on one aspect of the wider story: what Britain knew. Future exhibitions will ask what Britain did with that knowledge. These are difficult questions. They should be. A serious country
does not build remembrance on comfort. It builds it on truth. It is fitting that the exhibition begins in Westminster, but it must not stay there. As it travels to other Parliaments and legislatures, it will help share this national project with audiences across the United Kingdom. Today, Holocaust distortion, antisemitism and conspiracy theories are rising again. They feed on denial, evasion and forgetfulness. A national Memorial and Learning Centre must therefore do more than honour the dead. It must carry forward the legacy of survivors and refugees, preserve the historical record, work with leading Holocaust remembrance and educational institutions around the world, strengthening a global network dedicated to defending historical truth, and ensure future generations are equipped to challenge antisemitism, hatred and intolerance wherever they appear. Britain knew. Now Britain must remember — honestly, courageously and without excuse.
When even peacemakers fail the Green purity test DAVE RICH
T
COMMUNITY SECURITY TRUST he Green Party has reportedly banned Standing Together, a grassroots Jewish-Arab peace movement in Israel, from holding events at the Green Party conference in October. This follows a similar decision to block a fringe meeting on antisemitism that the Antisemitism Policy Trust and the polling company More In Common wanted to hold; meanwhile, at the same conference, the party will debate a motion calling for Israel to be erased and fully replaced with a single state of Palestine. Add these together and you get a sense of the singleminded, destructive fervour of the radical anti-Zionists who have flocked to the party under Zack Polanski’s leadership. Standing Together is hardly a Zionist mouthpiece. In Israel it campaigned for a ceasefire, blocked troop transports to Gaza and confronts violent settlers in the West Bank. It openly calls the Gaza war a genocide and accuses the Israeli state of apartheid. These are positions that would put them well to the left of the vast majority of
British Jews, never mind Israeli ones. You’d think they are exactly the kind of Israeli organisation that British leftists seeking to campaign against the Israeli government and its wars would want to hear from; but that is not what anti-Zionists want at all. Last year, the global BDS movement published a call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) to boycott Standing Together for the crime of “normalisation”. This was backed by the UK’s own Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Standing Together published a response hoping, it seems, to persuade people against this boycott, but their patiently-argued explanation missed the point. The people who want to boycott Standing Together don’t care that they campaign for Palestinian rights or accuse Israel of genocide. All that matters is that Standing Together also recognises that Israeli Jews are people with rights and needs of their own; that Israeli Jews have a narrative about their history and their reality that is worth listening to, as do Palestinians; and that Jews and Arabs in Israel need to work together to build a common future. That’s enough to get it banned.
The message is that there are no Israelis pure enough or acceptable enough for anti-Zionists in the Green Party to talk to, hear from, or work with. The only acceptable Israelis are the ones who agree that Israel shouldn’t exist at all. The Greens For Palestine faction has even ejected veteran anti-Zionist Jews who fell under suspicion for being closet Zionists. This is the logical direction of antiZionism today, in which any sense of hesitancy, compromise or moderation is taken as evidence of “normalisation” with the hated enemy. Usually, the British left will find partners and allies in other countries to work with, including within those countries they campaign against. But not Israel, because to work with Jews who live in Israel would admit messy, complicated reality into their simplistic, symbolic politics. An important aspect of this is that the criticisms that pragmatic, mainstream politicians make of the Israeli government, or the steps they implement to oppose its policies, will never be enough. Call for an end to the occupation of the West Bank? You get accused of normalising Israel’s existence within the 1967 borders. Condemn the disgraceful violence of Israeli settlers? The
riposte is, “All Israel is a settlement”. If you accuse Israel of war crimes, the demand is that you must go further and call it genocide. If you do that, the next step is that you must call for Israel to be completely dismantled. And if you baulk at supporting Hamas’s use of armed force – even after the atrocities of 7 October – you are treated as a backslider. The demands never stop. There is a lesson here for all political leaders, not just Polanski. Whatever you do to oppose Israel, whether it involves an arms embargo, settlement boycott, or sanctions on politicians, will never satisfy the activists who drive the anti-Zionist movement, because their campaign is fuelled by emotion and symbolism, not by practical policy asks. Only the complete destruction of Israel and the vilification of anyone and anything in Britain associated with Israel – whether that is an arms factory or a synagogue – will do. This is a politics that seeks to purify the world and bring about a radical overhaul of society by eliminating the Jewish State. It is uncompromising by design and welcomes confrontation. As such, it follows a kind of thinking about Jews that has a long and ignoble history; but it is a far cry from the Green Party of old.
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Scene & Be Seen / Community ROLLS OUT RED 1YAVNEH CARPET FOR 10TH BIRTHDAY
Magic, inflatables and a red carpet greeted pupils at Yavneh Primary as they returned for a first day back they will never forget, celebrating the Borehamwood school’s 10th birthday in spectacular style. Opening its doors in September 2016 with just 60 children, the school is marking a successful decade having been judged Outstanding in all areas by both Ofsted and Pikuach. All the children were treated like VIPs, making their entrances through a balloon arch before walking the red carpet and stopping for the waiting “paparazzi”. The milestone is particularly special as Yavneh College, the primary school’s “big brother”, is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the same time.
And be seen!
The latest news, pictures and social events from across the community
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EDINBURGH COMMUNITY FESTIVAL OPEN DAY
A range of artists delighted more than 150 audience members with music, comedy and theatre as Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre and Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation showcased the Jewish acts that featured at this year’s Fringe. Performers at the annual Festival Open Day show on Sunday 23 August included comedians Philip Simon, Rachel Creeger, Nick Cassenbaum, David Benaim and Bennett Arron. Music was provided by Edinburgh’s own klezmer band, Kapelye Mor, Melanie Gall and couple Marnina Schon and Micah O’Konis, with the closing set performed by Daniel Cainer.
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BUSHEY SUMMER FAIR 3GREAT BRINGS COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The campgrounds at Immanuel College in Bushey were transformed into a fairground, complete with rides, children’s attractions and kosher food stalls as The Great Bushey Summer Fair drew hundreds of local families for an afternoon of celebration and community connection. The event on Tuesday 11 August was hosted by Camp Juda, which is run by the Bushey Chabad Jewish Community Centre. One attendee, Maya B., said: “It was absolutely beautiful, the first time I’ve ever seen something like this in Bushey. The children’s pride, the warmth, the energy … it was truly unforgettable.” Organisers say they are now hoping the Great Bushey Summer Fair will become an annual tradition.
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SIMCHA’S KESHET 4CAMP SUMMER SCHEME
Camp Simcha’s annual Keshet Summer Day Scheme in London and Manchester offered rollercoasters and close encounters with animals for more than 1,500 attendees over four weeks. With days out ranging from Whipsnade Zoo and Alton Towers to Legoland and Adventure Island, Camp Simcha’s summer outings brought respite and adventures to families caring for seriously ill children. One parent said: “It was such a break to get out and not have to deal with anything medical. It was so nice to just spend time with all my children and give each of them the time and attention they need.” Camp Simcha chief executive Daniel Gillis said: “What I love about Keshet is watching a family arrive and just be a family for a day. Parents tell us their children start counting down the moment one outing ends, already asking when the next one is, and that’s the joy of Keshet.”
CAMP 5WONDERLAND IN FINCHLEY
Emily Ben – Ze’ev from Emily’s Adventures in Wonderland – entertained more than 50 children at Finchley Chabad Summer camp, which was held at Morasha School. Over a few days, children enjoyed a whole range of science workshops, making rainbow spinners, bubble blizzards, jumping bubbles, tornadoes and volcanoes, and wearing prism glasses.
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Community / Scene & Be Seen CARE GETS COOKING 6JEWISH FOR FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER
Jewish Care Families recently hosted a cookery evening with Josh Halmer, better known as Falmer, who shared his favourite tips, tricks and recipes for creating a delicious Friday night dinner. Director of fundraising and marketing Ellisa Estrin said: “From discovering new dishes to sitting down and enjoying the meal together, the evening was all about good food, connection and community — while raising vital funds to support Jewish Care. A huge thank you to Josh Falmer and to the Jewish Care Families committee for making the evening possible, and to everyone who joined us and helped make it so special.”
PARENTS TAKE 7NORWOOD ON SPORTING CHALLENGE
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Inspired by the charity’s care for their daughter Stephanie, parents Judith and Nigel took on a team triathlon challenge to raise more than £13k for Norwood. Stephanie has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and has complex needs, including visual impairment. Since 2017, she has been living in a Norwood home which uses pioneering assistive technology enabling her to live a rich life independently. Together with support worker Lisa, her parents swam 750m, cycled 20k and ran 5k in tandem to raise funds for accessible adult swings and other sensory garden equipment. Mum Judith said: “The early years were really traumatic, but Norwood was our lifeline and still is. Living independently is giving Stephanie the confidence to let her sense of humour and mischievous side come to the fore.”
SUPPORT 8ACCESSIBILITY BOXES FOR ROSH HASHANAH
Kisharon Langdon has launched an initiative to help create more inclusive synagogue experiences during the High Holy Days. The You Are Welcome Here Accessibility Support Box will be trialled in a select number of synagogues, providing practical resources to help individuals with learning disabilities, autistic people and those with communication differences and/or sensory needs to participate more comfortably in services. Each box contains a visual guide to the service, communication cards featuring easy-read images and short phrases that enable people to express what they need during a service and more. Daniel, supported by Kisharon Langdon, said: “It is like a survival kit for synagogue services. If someone needs to use it, they have everything to gain and nothing to lose!”
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£52,000 RAISED 9 RECORD AT CHAI GIFT SALE
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Around 1,000 people flocked to Chai Cancer Care’s flagship centre in Hendon, north-west London, on Monday 7 September for its annual Rosh Hashanah Gift Sale. The day was packed with stallholders and clients – former and current – who shared the personal stories behind their support for the UK Jewish community’s key cancer support service for people and their loved ones affected by a diagnosis. Running from 9am until 7pm, the day-long fundraiser brought together more than 40 businesses with an expanded marquee to accommodate demand. Attendees stocked up on Rosh Hashanah gifts and treats, from jewellery, Judaica and homeware to children’s toys and personalised pyjamas. Louise Hager, chairman of Chai, said: “There is something very special about seeing businesses from across our community choosing to support Chai in this way, particularly when, for some, that support comes from a very personal connection to cancer or to Chai itself. They are not simply coming here to sell their products; they are helping us raise vital funds and giving back to an organisation that may have supported them or somebody they love.”
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Supplement
Sifting through the wide range of educational opportunities and experiences for your child can be overwhelming. We’ve done the legwork for you. By Louisa Walters New beginnings
through the eight Channing Characters. For example, Curiosity Fox encourages exploration and a love of learning; Bravery Mole supports pupils to step into the unknown with confidence; Empathy Rabbit reminds them to notice and care for others. Through these shared values, the girls understand their own responsibility in helping peers feel included. Strengthened by a close partnership between school and home, this culture of care provides pupils with the ultimate reassurance that they have a meaningful place in the world.
Rosh Hashanah is the season of beginnings, and for many families, September brings a beginning of a different kind: a first morning at nursery, a first coat on a named peg, a first friend. Choosing where that happens is one of the hardest decisions a parent makes. The Werton Group has five nurseries across north London (Edgware, Hendon, Golders Green and Hampstead), each with its own character – a small and homely setting, a shulbased Gan, a nursery beside the brook – all held to the same standard, with safeguarding and care a real strength across them all. Recent Ofsted reports state that children receive a warm welcome from attentive staff, who help them feel safe and settled from the moment they arrive. Reports also say that “children make rapid progress from their starting points and parents and carers feel reassured by the high-quality care and attention their children receive”. And “children
Joy and confidence
A sense of belonging is key at Channing Junior School
develop an understanding of the Jewish faith and traditions as these become a natural part of their everyday experiences”.
A culture of care
Children feel safe at Werton Group schools
At Channing Junior School in Highgate, a strong sense of belonging is nurtured every single day. From the moment the girls arrive in the morning, there is a shared understanding that every child should feel seen, valued and connected. Belonging sits at the heart of the school community, underpinning how pupils feel about themselves, how they approach learning, and how they build relationships. When a child feels accepted for who they are, they flourish. They approach the classroom with curiosity and confidence, safe in the knowledge that they can take risks, make mistakes, and try again. In essence, belonging creates the foundation for both academic success and emotional wellbeing. Belonging at Channing does not mean fitting into a mould. True belonging cele-
brates individuality, allowing each girl to be fully herself while feeling part of a wider, diverse community. This ethos is beautifully reinforced
This month sees the launch of the Sacks Morasha Scholars Programme, designed to encourage pupils at the school in Finchley to engage with every aspect of school life with intellectual curiosity, creativity and purpose. In the classroom, the playground and through extracurricular projects, pupils are encouraged to think deeply, ask challenging questions and connect their learning to the wider world. The aim is not only to nurture academic excellence, but also to foster confidence, empathy and leadership. The aim is that every child leaves the
Sacks Morasha pupils are encouraged to think deeply
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Education
school
teaching and pastoral support, setting the tone for the decisions made by the school’s leadership team. Children are supported to develop their individual strengths and encouraged to strive for personal excellence. The dedication of every adult to help enable each child to achieve their full potential, both academically and beyond, is what truly distinguishes the school.
Holistic support
Gesher School in Pinner is the UK’s only Jewish primary and secondary school dedicated to children and young people aged 4-16 with mild to moderate special educational needs Every child has opportunity to succeed at Hasmonean and disabilities, including autism, ADHD and Down’s Syndrome. teacher Tamaryn Yartu. The past year saw Gesher proudly receive Gesher remains committed to creating an its third consecutive “outstanding” rating environment where every child has a place from Ofsted. Inspectors noted that “pupils to belong and is supported to reach their full excel at this exceptional school”, recognising potential. Placements are available across a A key sentiment at Seed is that as a family you get to choose your own soundtrack the highly personalised and holistic support number of year groups. the school provides. This achievement in Year 6 as a Young Scholar who can think Seed provides engaging touchpoints to reflects the dedication of Gesher’s specialist Excellence and kindness deeply, act ethically and live with purpose. develop this family Jewish identity through teachers and therapists, as well as the strong At the heart of Hasmonean Primary School in These aspirations are captured in the school’s centres in Edgware, Borehamwood and relationships it fosters with families and the Hendon is a commitment to excellence – kind‘SMART’ framework: Simcha, Middot, Manchester, 120 mums engaging weekly in wider community. ness and partnership with families – ensuring Achdut, Ruach and Torah. At the core of this Early Years programmes, 250 people learning The school has also celebrated its highest every child is given the opportunity to succeed vision is Torah as a foundation for a scholarly in the One2One programme, parenting admissions rate thus far with 83 students, academically, socially and emotionally. It is a approach to learning. classes and courses, 200 parent-child events and its first-ever graduating cohort of Year warm, nurturing and vibrant learning commuThrough Middot, pupils are encouraged in schools annually and nity where every child is to lead ethically, showing kindness, integFriday night dinners, fun valued and supported to rity and responsibility in their interactions. family events, weekends thrive. This is balanced by Simcha, helping children away, Poland trips, bat Caring and friendly approach learning with joy and resilience so mitzvah programmes and staff create a welcoming pupils celebrate not only their own achievefather-sons bar mitzvah environment in which chilments, but also the successes of their peers. trips to Israel. At Rosh dren feel happy, secure and The Young Scholars approach is a careHashanah there are also inspired to achieve their fully mapped journey, moving from wonder adult and kids services very best. and independence to critical thinking and at Seed Shul Edgware, a A strong and ambitious leadership through debates, mentoring and family service in Borecurriculum places equal the Sacks Awards – the school’s pupil develhamwood partnering importance on both core opment programme. Sacks Morasha graduwith BES Yavneh, a family and foundation subjects ates will be joyful, confident young people explanatory service at with engaging, enriching who use their knowledge and Torah values to Mill Hill, and explanatory lessons designed to develop make a positive difference in the world. services in schools and curiosity, creativity and a early years settings. lifelong love of learning. Family identity Alongside this, pupils A key sentiment at Seed is that as a family Close-knit benefit from a range of you get to choose your own soundtrack. That community specialist subjects including means that whatever challenges and difficulEtz Chaim in Mill Hill music, Ivrit and PE. ties exist, a solid family identity will serve benefits from a large, Academic progress and as the calming soundtrack to anything your modern, purpose-built attainment are only part children experience. site, enabling the school of the story – the school If your family can create a solid Jewish to provide a wide variety places great emphasis identity, cultivate clear values and engage in of learning and social on children’s emotional Jewish life and growth, your children thrive. environments. Educawellbeing and positive Internal stability and identity are the best tional excellence is of mental health. Wellbeing buffer to external uncertainty. the highest importance, provision includes a with a strong focus on dedicated wellbeing room ensuring that every child and a variety of wellbeing is supported and chalsessions, including Lego lenged to achieve their Therapy, helping chilfull potential. dren develop resilience, The school’s culture confidence and strong is built around its emotional awareness. nurturing, close-knit Gesher in Pinner is the only Jewish primary dedicated to SEND children Hasmonean Primary community feel, where every School is open from 7:45am adult knows every child. This ensures that 11 students. The dedicated team of teachers until 5:15pm, with a breakfast club availevery child feels a genuine sense of belonging and specialist therapists have supported each able each morning. Specialist after-school and knows that they matter and that all staff, graduate through the emotional, psychological provision includes a separate club tailored from the school office to the headteacher, and practical aspects of transitioning from specifically for EYFS children, alongcare deeply about them and their future. Gesher to the next stage of their education. side after-school care for the rest of the This guiding principle is about developing “We are incredibly proud of our graduates, school community. a deep understanding of each child as an who have grown into confident, independent individual – their unique needs, strengths and inspiring young adults and we cannot A magical childhood and personality. wait to see what they achieve in the next Set within 22 acres of beautiful HertEtz Chaim is built around its community feel This ethos underpins Etz Chaim’s chapter of their education,” shares headfordshire countryside, Manor Lodge
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INDEPENDENT DAY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 4-18
At Channing School we build bravery every day, becoming fearless learners for life. And when bravery becomes a habit, the extraordinary follows.
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Highgate, N6 5HF
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Education blessed with the opportunity to consider how the moral framework that being Jewish provides can help us approach the opportunities of a 21st-century existence. Never before have chavruta and the ability of students to listen, question and disagree with dignity been more important to the educational offering. The curriculum is being developed to include real-world opportunities for students to grapple with the interdisciplinary challenges facing our planet, alongside their core academic subjects. This involves a range of new partnerships, from working with Google to explore how technology can truly personalise learning alongside – rather than instead of – teacher expertise, to broadening the sports programme and making full use of the 11-acre site.
The chance to thrive
Migdal Ohr, Israel’s largest educational and welfare organisation for vulner-
her extraordinary passion and talent for music emerged. With professional violin tuition, dedicated mentors and unwavering support, Shani’s confidence flourished alongside her musical ability. Today, Shani is an accomplished violinist. Her journey is a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when a child is given the opportunity to succeed. Through education, the arts, sport and vocational training Migdal Ohr helps young people develop the skills, confidence and resilience to build independent, meaningful lives.
A changing world
At Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools, students benefit from an exceptional education that combines the strengths of single-sex learning with the opportunities of a co-educational environment, preparing young people to
Manor Lodge inspires curiosity and wonder
primary school in Shenley has been designed to inspire curiosity, creativity and wonder. The school believes that children learn best through hands-on experience and, most importantly, through play. The results speak for themselves. The school’s most recent cohort of Year 6 leavers was awarded an impressive 41 scholarships to leading secondary schools including Habs Girls, Habs Boys, RMS for Girls, St Albans High School for Girls, St Albans School and Aldenham School. Manor Lodge’s extensive grounds are not simply a backdrop to education; they are an integral part of it. Pupils can be found tending well-stocked allotments, collecting eggs from the busy chicken coop, or cooking over open fires in canopy classrooms. There are mindfulness gardens for reading and reflection, as well as countless opportunities for discovery throughout the school day. As one Year 3 pupil explains: “At Manor Lodge you learn, but not just in class, you can learn anywhere.” Bright, light-filled spaces create “classrooms without walls”, maintaining a strong connection with the natural world. From Nursery to Year 6, pupils benefit from specialist teaching in a wide range of subjects, including computing, outdoor learning, music, drama and art. Manor Lodge is guided
Immanuel College has built a new sixth form building
by a commitment to cherishing childhood, protecting its magic and helping every child thrive. It is a place where happy memories are made, potential is unlocked and confidence flourishes.
Future proof
“If every child is b’tzelem Elohim, education isn’t fundamentally about processing a cohort through examinations,” says Christopher Jones, the new headteacher at Immanuel College, which not only offers outstanding pastoral care, but also fosters a community in which deep friendships last into your 20s, 30s and beyond. A new Sixth Form building has taken shape remarkably quickly and recognising what is truly possible in a short time has inspired the teachers to consider what they can achieve with their students in each and every lesson. While some schools struggle with the challenges of AI, Immanuel College is
able children, believes that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and dream, regardless of their circumstances. Each year, Migdal Ohr supports around 10,000 children and young people affected by poverty, neglect, abuse, trauma and loss. Through schools, youth villages, foster family homes and educational programmes, they receive the education, stability, care and encouragement they need to build brighter futures. One of those children was Shani Levy. When Shani arrived at Migdal Ohr, she faced significant challenges. In the safe, nurturing environment she found there,
Migdal Ohr is Israel’s largest educational and welfare organisation for vulnerable children
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Education students engage with emerging ideas and real-world challenges, from artificial intelligence and sustainability to entrepreneurship and digital innovation. Academic achievement is matched by an outstanding pastoral and co-curricular programme that enables students to discover passions beyond the classroom. Jewish Society is a valued part of school life, bringing students together through speakers, celebrations and shared prayer, while fostering a strong sense of community and celebrating Jewish life within the school. With world class facilities, continued investment in the campus and a culture built on ambition and community, Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools continue to exemplify what modern independent education can achieve, nurturing young people who are not only academically accomplished, but prepared to make a meaningful impact in an increasingly complex world. Art exhibition at Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools
Progress and success
The outstanding progress made by students at Brampton College in Hendon – whether over three years from GCSE to A level, two years of A level or in one year of retake – consistently places it in the top one percent of schools in the UK for the progress students make from GCSE to A level. With an average class size of seven every student is known, supported and receives personalised guidance. A flexible approach accommodates combinations not available elsewhere, including transfers, an accelerated one-year GCSE programme and entry directly into the second year of A level. An exceptional Careers and Futures programme offers expert guidance and mentorship, helping students secure places at some of the most competitive universities and degree programmes, including Oxford and Cambridge. With Jewish Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools exemplify modern education students making up over a third of the student thrive in a rapidly changing world. body, the active and everHaving been named Independent School growing JSoc is an imporof the Year 2025, alongside receiving the tant part of the college community. Jewish award for Outstanding Educational Partnerstudents “really feel the vibrancy of Jewish ships, Habs continues to demonstrate a clear life at Brampton” (Limor, 2026 leaver). vision for modern education. Teaching staff are highly qualified specialThe recognition reflects not only ists, and a many are practising A level examacademic excellence, but also the schools’ iners with direct insight into how marks are commitment to make a meaningful impact awarded. through its award-winning Partnerships This expertise is passed to students Programme with local state schools. through inspiring teaching and a programme As well as developing leadership skills of regular timed tests, tutorials and strucamong Habs students, the programme has tured exam-technique practice. helped improve attendance among disadvanFortnightly records that measure taged pupils by more than 10 percent. students’ progress in each subject are This year, Habs remains focused on reviewed between the student and their preparing students for futures not yet imagpersonal tutor (and are also emailed to ined through a curriculum that encourages parents), enabling an open, continuous independence, resilience and curiosity. dialogue about individual progress and Through the Habs Innovation Centre, success.
Brampton College has an average class size of seven
School leavers
For many young people, securing a first job is far from guaranteed. Across the UK, youth unemployment among 16 to 24-yearolds currently stands at around 16 percent, more than three times the national average. At the same time, employers are reducing graduate schemes and entrylevel opportunities, leaving many talented young people struggling to get a foot on the career ladder. Young people who have worked hard at school and university are often sending application after application without success, leaving many feeling frustrated and uncertain about their future. Aisha experienced this uncertainty first-hand. Just eight months into her first role after university, the start-up she worked for unexpectedly closed. After approaching Resource, a charity dedicated to helping members of the Jewish community into employment, Aisha worked with her dedicated adviser to identify strengths she had overlooked, including leadership and volunteering experience. She also attended workshops on networking, interview techniques and AI in recruitment. With support throughout the application process, including a mock interview to build her confidence, Aisha secured a communications role within the Civil Service. “Resource was a hundred
percent a game changer for me,” she says. Stories like Aisha’s highlight the importance of targeted support alongside academic success. For students and graduates navigating today’s job market, guidance and practical experience can make all the difference.
Resource is dedicated to placing young people in the community into employment
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Open day 4th November pm. Visit sacksmorasha.org.uk/book-a-visit to book your place.
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ACHIEVED A ‘SIGNIFICANT STRENGTH’ IN ISI INSPECTION REPORT, 2025
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The Future of Israel
Begins With Its Children. Caring
Education
Opportunity
One child. One opportunity. A future transformed. Shani arrived at Migdal Ohr facing an uncertain future. With care, education and the opportunity to discover her talent, she found her voice through music. Today, she is an accomplished violinist.
Scan to watch Shani’s inspiring journey on YouTube.
Every year, Migdal Ohr supports around
10,000
vulnerable children across Israel to thrive.
SPONSOR A CHILD LIKE SHANI TODAY and help transform a child’s future. www.migdalohr.org.uk/programs/sponsor-a-child
Charity No: 290371
@migdalohruk
www.migdalohr.org.uk
Where The Wonder Of Childhood Is Cherished Manor Lodge is an independent primary school in Shenley, for boys and girls aged between 3 and 11. Our 22 acres of beautiful Hertfordshire countryside have been carefully curated to inspire children at every turn. It’s a school that expertly combines academic excellence with a magical childhood.
Now Enrolling For Reception 2027 Our 4+ Assessment Day is on 16th October 2026. Scan the QR to register your child’s place. To book a parent tour, or for any other queries, please email admissions@manorlodgeschool.com or call us on 01707 642 424.
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COMPETITION
Jewish News writing award launched for young voices WIZO UK and Jewish News are delighted to launch the Hope Awards, a writing competition inviting young people to explore what hope means to them. Open to primary-school pupils in Years 5 and 6, the competition asks children to create a piece of writing inspired by the theme of Hope. It could be hopeful, imaginative, thoughtful or personal – we want children to express the idea in their own words and in their own way. We are looking for originality, creativity and writing that comes from the heart. Hope is central to WIZO UK’s work supporting women, children and families across Israel. Even during the most challenging times, hope gives people the strength to imagine a better future and to help build it. Through the Hope Awards, WIZO UK and Jewish News want to hear what hope looks and feels like
to the next generation. Entries will be considered by a special judging panel, including representatives from WIZO UK and Jewish News, along with celebrity guest judges including scriptwriter and author Ivor Baddiel and children’s author and specialist paediatric speech and language therapist Hollie Geey. Hollie is passionate about helping children reach their potential. “I’m thrilled to be part of the Hope Awards, she says. “Every child has a unique story to share. Give them the confidence to use their imagination, explore their own ideas and enjoy creating their story.” The winner will receive theatre tickets and the runners-up will receive book vouchers. Maureen Fisher, CEO of WIZO UK, says: “Hope does not mean pretending that everything is easy. It means believing that a better future is possible and that each of us can
help create it. We are looking for entries that come from the heart and show us what hope genuinely means to young people today.” Louisa Walters, features editor at Jewish News, says: “We want children to use their imagination and allow their own voices to shine through. An entry might make us smile, move us or encourage us to see hope in a completely different way. We are looking for originality, creativity and something that only that child could have written. “As an editor, my advice is that a good piece of writing needs to have a beginning, a middle and end. I know we have so much talent in our community and I am excited to see what our children produce.” We’ve invited Jewish primary schools across the UK to get involved by encouraging their Year 5 and 6 pupils to enter. Schools could introduce the Hope Awards as a classroom activity or set the
Hollie Geey
Ivor Baddiel
writing challenge for children to complete over the October halfterm. The winners will have their writing published in Jewish News alongside a special profile and will also receive theatre tickets for the whole family. We cannot wait to read the children’s inspiring, surprising and
uplifting interpretations of hope. Who can enter? Children in Years 5 and 6 Theme: Hope Closing date: 2 November 2026 How to enter: Visit jewishnews.co.uk/hopeawards
WIZOuk & JEWISH NEWS PRESENT
CALLING ALL YOUNG WRITERS IN YEARS 5 AND 6 What does hope mean to you? Write a piece inspired by the theme of hope. It can be imaginative, thoughtful, personal or uplifting. We want to hear what hope looks and feels like to you. PRIZES INCLUDE: • Your writing published in Jewish News • A special profile celebrating each winner • Theatre tickets for you and your family ENTRIES CLOSE: 2 NOVEMBER 2026 Teachers: Why not make The Hope Awards a classroom activity or an October half-term writing challenge? To enter, visit jewishnews.co.uk/hopeawards
WIZOuk Registered Charity Number: 1125012. Registered Company Number: 6634748.
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Free job search support from people in the Jewish community who know hiring from the inside Advisors • CVs • Interviews • Networking • AI
RESOURCE-CENTRE.ORG / 020 8346 4000
Shana Tova from the Resource team!
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Inside A look
Elliott Gould, Liza sings Barbra, Education supplement
As we enter a new Jewish year, what could feel more fitting than a tender coming-of-age movie about a Jewish family? Darren Richman settled down to watch
H
aving made big money at the box office in France, Just an Illusion arrives in cinemas this week. It is a warm and nostalgic crowdpleaser centred on a Jewish family living in the suburbs of Paris in 1985. The primary focus is Vincent, the younger of two brothers, in the leadup to his bar mitzvah day. One is struck, when watching the film, by what Stephen King refers to as “the ecstasy of perfect recognition”. As with King’s Stand by Me, this is a work that seems to perfectly capture what it feels like to be 12. Unsurprisingly, this autobiographical film is inspired by the adolescence of filmmakers Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache and one can feel the emotional truth in every scene. It is a film about love, music and assimilation. It is absolutely not to be missed, by Jews and gentiles alike. The writer-directors are in their 50s now and, with teenage children of their own, felt compelled to reveal a little more of their own formative years. Combining genuine quality with mass appeal is rare but it can happen (see Seinfeld and The Beatles). Toledano and Nakache achieved this trick with The Intouchables back in 2011, but perhaps it is even more surprising in 2026 with a tender coming-of-age story about a Jewish immigrant family.
Just an Illusion is not mawkish or sentimental but instead manages to convey the feeling of falling in love with music and a person for the first time. The writing process began with the creative partners sharing anecdotes from their past and writing them down, long before
as by tenderness. The brothers at the centre of the film argue one minute and embrace the next while the mother and father, expertly played by Camille Cottin and Louis Garrel, were inspired by the filmmakers’ own parents as well as those depicted in Italian comedies of yesteryear. This combination of
(Clockwise from left) Louis Garrel, Alexis Rosenstiehl, Pierre Lottin, Simon Boublil and Camille Cottin star in Just an Illusion
Simon Boublil and Jeanne Lamartine, who plays love interest Anne-Karine
such stories were fictionalised or embellished for the screenplay. The specific is the universal – the level of detail in the mise-en-scène means something is bound to chime with each and every audience member, whether they came of age in the 1980s or not. One aspect that Jewish viewers in particular might relate to is the way in which the family dynamics are shaped as much by arguments
realism and humour ensures Just an Illusion remains immensely relatable even as the laughs fly thick and fast. Vincent is an amalgam of the filmmakers. The pair met as teenagers on summer camp and bonded over a shared love of Woody Allen films. Toledano’s parents were immigrants from Morocco while Nakache’s parents were born in Algeria – such similar backgrounds
Vincent (right), played by Simon Boublil, navigates turning 13; right, Louis Garrel and Pierre Lottin
have ensured they are entirely simpatico and ideal collaborators. Almost 40 years later, both their fathers died during the production of Just an Illusion so this love letter to their teenage years is dedicated to the memories of both men. It is notable that the Jewish elements are never laid on too thick and the parents are primarily concerned with unemployment, transport strikes and the digital transition, while the teenage boys are chiefly preoccupied with music and girls. For many Jews, religion can feel like a low hum in the background of their everyday lives and it comes as something of a shock when a rabbi arrives at the family’s door, but it begins to become a central theme as the bar mitzvah draws closer. For a large proportion of our people, Judaism is never more significant than in the weeks and months leading up to a bar mitzvah. In a sense, the entire film is about the awkward transition from childhood to adulthood that is symbolically represented by a bar mitzvah. Alyhough the film is set in 1985, Toledano and Nakache are never reactionary. Just an Illusion might have nostalgic undertones, but it never loses sight of the more difficult elements of the era for the country and its people. They prefer to show life as it was.
Simon Boublil, in his film debut, is extraordinary in the lead as Vincent. He has to convey childlike worries about his parents’ relationship in early scenes and offer a glimpse of the man he will become by the film’s denouement as his own relationship progresses. Almost 2,000 young actors auditioned, since the filmmakers knew the entire project hinged on casting the right person. Vincent gradually comes to the realisation that his parents are flawed people, like us all, and Boublil’s slow metamorphosis is perfectly pitched. The stakes are never particularly high but the thing about adolescence is that everything feels as though it is life or death. The filmmakers do not add inciting incidents to up the ante and the family’s troubles are those of everyday life: relationships, money, parenting and the like. Our concerns are those of Vincent because of how expertly he has been written, directed and performed. When we arrive at his bar mitzvah day and the credits roll, it is hard not to feel as though we have spent a couple of hours in the company of friends. Just an illusion, perhaps, but cinema cannot offer much more than that. Just an Illusion is showing in cinemas now
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JN LIFE
New film Legend of Destruction is the story of the Second Temple. Elliott Gould lends his voice and talks about faith, family and Barbra Streisand. By Brigit Grant
L
egend of Destruction is not like anything you have seen before. Israeli director Gidi Dar has made a film about the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, but it’s not only the subject that makes it unique. It’s the way he has chosen to tell it. Rather than conventional animation, Dar tells the story through 1,500 extraordinary paintings by Israeli artists David Polonsky and Michael Faust, who both worked on the Oscar-nominated Waltz with Bashir. The camera travels across their images, creating something best described as static animation of a superior kind. As Oscar Isaac, who voices central character Ben Batich, explains: “The paintings are beautiful, the music is incredible, and the sound design is amazing. And suddenly, within minutes, I didn’t realise that they were still images anymore. I felt like I was watching Gladiator.” What audiences will see is Jerusalem tearing itself apart because of inequality, corruption, religious fanaticism and civil war – and that’s before the Romans arrive to finish the destruction. The 2,000-yearold story feels disconcertingly relevant. Supporting Isaac is a cast including Evangeline Lilly, Billy Zane, Marilu Henner and, impressively, Elliott Gould, who voices Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai – uncle of protagonist Batich and the man who understands that Jerusalem may be lost but Judaism doesn’t have to be. An interview with Elliott Gould doesn’t travel in straight lines. Questions lead to memories, memories to philosophy and philosophy back to family. Gould turned 88 in August and has a
lifetime of places to go – you just never know which one a question will take him to. So when we talk about Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, Gould says: “You might have to remind me how to pronounce that.” I tell him I’ve not quite mastered it, but he has moved on. “What am I in the film? Simply a wise man, a teacher, a rabbi in the picture.” Did he know much about the destruction of the Second Temple? “As a matter of fact, I did. But I’m thinking that the First Temple was also destroyed. Hopefully there will be no more destruction of temples, but we’ve got problems here in the present – and it’s always about the present for me.” Politics leaves him cold. “It confuses me Batich, who is voiced by Oscar Isaac (left), with Gould’s rabbi because people make spirit,” he replies simply. things up. I never biggest stars. M*A*S*H So what does Legend of Destruction ultiwant to offend anyone, made Gould’s Trapper mately teach us? “To continue to learn, to whatever their religion or John part of cinema perspective is.” history and a defining part- continue to work and integrate and share.” A surprisingly optimistic conclusion to Gould comes across as the nership with Robert Altman, sweetest of souls and has been followed with The Long Goodbye, a film about catastrophe. I tell him I think famous for longer than some of Elliott Gould California Split and Nashville, in which he has a cameo as himself. his co-stars have been alive. In “I play Elliott Gould,” he reminds me, 1969 he was Oscar-nominated for Bob & adding: “My name on my birth certificate is Carol & Ted & Alice. Was that when he felt Elliott Goldstein.” like a movie star? Goldstein originally? “No, that wasn’t a moment. That was a “Originally,” he says, approvingly. “That’s little embarrassing.” a good one.” Embarrassing? Gould grew up Jewish in Brooklyn, “Of course. I don’t want to have so much attended Hebrew school and knew the attention put on me. I’m just a baby at history depicted in Legend of Destrucheart. I just want to live and learn, make tion. “I heard the stories. I read them. I my way through the world and accept the studied them.” truth of reality.” We return to the film’s magnificent paintBy 1970 he was one of Hollywood’s ings, so brutal with bloodied bodies, burning buildings and Jews killing Jews as Jerusalem descends into chaos. “And look out the window right now,” says Gould with Barbra Streisand in 1967 Gould. “We are at war.” with son Jason Not in Echo Park, Los Angeles, but I get it is terribly sad at the end. “Well,” Gould what he means. corrects me, “there is no end.” For all the “I believe in my children, but I cannot destruction in Gidi Dar’s film, Gould sees believe in one child over another child. I continuation. That’s why the role fits. believe that the gift of life, the gift of existYohanan ben Zakkai could not prevent ence, is for us to share. We have to learn to the destruction of Jerusalem but ensured make peace.” Jewish learning could continue after it. I dare to suggest that some people don’t What sort of audience will respond to such want peace. “We have a tendency of blaming an unusual film? “I don’t know. I’m not a one another. I can’t blame anybody. I’m so businessman,” he laughs. pleased to be alive, and to have lasted so No, I agree. You’re an actor. “I’m an long, and to be able to communicate with artist,” he corrects me, “and sometimes I you. The only thing that matters to me is act.” what we have to share.” He does, and memorably so as Monica It would be easy to describe Gould as and Ross Geller’s father Jack in Friends and spiritual. In fact, I do. “I believe in the Legend of Destruction tells the story of ancient Israel coming apart in an epic cataclysm
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JN LIFE
The animation style was created using 1,500 original still paintings by artists David Polonsky and Michael Faust
as Reuben Tishkoff in the Ocean’s films. I fish for an anecdote from either, but he is fixed on job description. Acting is also play, he tells me. “What baby doesn’t like to play? That’s what acting is to me – playing.” The baby is a recurring image, but so are his actual children. His family, he says, is “large and growing. They mean everything to me. More than everything.” His eldest son Jason was born during his marriage to Barbra Streisand; he also has Molly and Samuel from his marriage to Jennifer Bogart. When I mention Streisand – cautiously – he immediately says “she’s a great Jewish girl” and “I love her always”; then reminds me of the connection that matters: “Jason.” Whatever happened between the two young performers who became extraordinarily famous, their relationship today is simple. “It’s a family. We love one another.” That family extends to Streisand’s husband James Brolin. “I saved his life,” Gould announces. He did, too – on screen in the 1978 conspiracy thriller Capricorn One. Gould laughs. So do I. Work has also given him friendships that outlasted the people with whom he shared them, notably Donald Sutherland, his M*A*S*H co-star. “Donald was my best mate.” Did they remain close? “Oh, sure. We made two other movies together, and we would talk. I love
Donald. I still love Donald.” Sutherland died in 2024, but Gould reaches for something one of his children told him. “One of my babies said to me, ‘It doesn’t matter how long you live, so long as you know you’re living, right, Dad? And you’re not dead until you’re forgotten’.” In three days’ time he has a birthday. Any plans? “Acknowledging it,” he retorts. Then Gould as philosopher returns one last time. “I’m so, so happy to be alive, to be able to communicate and share some of my experience, my beliefs and my knowledge. “And we’re never too old to be educated.” Perhaps that’s the real connection between Gould and the ancient rabbi he voices. Legend of Destruction is about what was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago. But Yohanan ben Zakkai’s story is about what wasn’t: knowledge, faith, memory and the possibility of passing something on. Elliott Gould understands that. There is no end. Legend of Destruction is released worldwide across all major streaming platforms on 15 September
Director Gadi Dar
Top: Bar Giora, voiced by Billy Zane. Above: Rabbi voiced by Elliott Gould
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JN LIFE
From comedy tunes to movie musicals, the highly versatile Liza Pulman has much to sing about. By Barry Borman
Liza mixes history, warmth and humour in Liza Pulman Sings Streisand
Liza Pulman’s eclectic career has taken her from Glyndebourne Opera to London’s West End
Y
ou could certainly call Liza Pulman a funny girl. As one-third of the hilariously comedic singing group Fascinating Aida, which boasts three Olivier Award nominations for Best Entertainment and has recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, she has wowed audiences with her versatility, vocal agility and sheer salacity. The Financial Times hailed them as “one of the most exquisitely polished shows you are ever likely to see”. And yet this demure blonde has several other strings to her bow, one of which is her abiding love of one artist in particular, Barbra Streisand. To this end, Liza eschews the bawdiness of the girl group, exuding instead an air of elegant sophistication as befits someone who studied singing at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama and who, in 1994, performed at Glyndebourne Opera in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. This production was conducted by no-less-a-maestro than Sir Georg Solti, who in 1938 had fled the increasingly harsh Hungarian anti-Jewish laws of his homeland and whose very first conducting opportunity in his career happened
to be, by pure coincidence, the very same Marriage of Figaro. Barbra Streisand herself is no stranger to the classical repertoire, rendering Debussy, Faure and Schumann with exquisite panache in her album Classical Barbra and having also been described as the only person who can turn Cry Me a River into something comparable to the opera singer Caruso “having his bash at Pagliacci”. Born in 1969 in Westminster, Pulman is the daughter of screenwriter Jack Pulman (most famous for the BBC television series I, Claudius) and actress Barbara Young. Jack was Jewish with Polish antecedents, his father Arthur coming over to Britain as a young man with his brother and together setting up a chain of barber shops in London’s East End. Liza says that while she was growing up, her mother ensured that the family was drowned in chicken soup and chopped liver. Liza was weaned on the music of the Great American Songbook, which explains her great affinity with Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday and the songs of Hollywood’s movie-musicals. Her Hooray For Hollywood show sees her, together with the singer/pianist Joe Stilgoe,
perform the great songs from the big screen. We’re talking Doe a Deer, A Spoonful of Sugar, some Fred Astaire, some Fiddler on the Roof and everything in between, so grab your popcorn and prepare to be swept away by the magic of West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Wicked and La La Land. It’s a long way from Westminster to Barbra’s birthplace in Brooklyn, but the miles dissolve when you watch Liza singing Barbra, head tilted and arms expressively caressing the lyrics, whether gliding effortlessly above the orchestration in the up-tempo numbers, or leaning into the melody with rapt eloquence when doing cosy and intimate. Liza’s take on A Sleepin’ Bee, an early personal favourite of Barbra, written by Harold Arlen of Over the Rainbow fame, performed with just guitar accompaniment, bears all the wide-eyed youthful innocence that in 1964 propelled Barbra to stardom, scooping the part of the Jewish teenager Fanny Brice in the Broadway production of Funny Girl, which she reprised four years later at the cinema. Liza idiomatically offers us two signature songs from this
musical, Don’t Rain on My Parade and People. In presenting six decades of Barbra Streisand in one evening, Liza has a huge iconic repertoire on which to draw, so she leavens the showstoppers, such as Second Hand Rose, by interspersing them with more elegiac numbers (The Way He Makes Me Feel from the movie Yentl, meltingly gorgeous, and You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, originally released by Barbra as a duet with Neil Diamond). Shaping dynamics to suit tempo and sentiment, she lavishes great care on the melodic refrain and elicits subtle emotion from the words. Liza stresses that the audience (and her six-piece band, which she assures us “sounds like the London Philharmonic”) is as much a part of the evening as she is. One of Barbra’s greatest attributes is her ability to hold the audience in the palm of her hand as if they’re in her own living room and Liza similarly achieves this with her smooth between-numbers anecdotal patter
and her Streisand-like sprinkling of dry humour, weaving a narrative and building an easy rapport with her listeners to enhance the show’s relaxed ambience. To be sure, Liza is not, nor would in any way claim to be, a Barbra Streisand impersonator. Her brief is simple: “I love Barbra Streisand. You love Barbra Streisand. So enjoy!” Liza views it as a celebration and accordingly distils the true essence of Barbra, generating a warmth and humanity that seeks out the music’s expressive truth, so that you come away from an evening spent in her presence feeling that you’ve been granted the privilege of a personal audience with the diva herself – and at a price that still leaves you on friendly terms with your bank manager. Liza Sings Streisand is at the Radlett Centre on 22 October and at St Martin’s in the Fields on 10 November. Hooray For Hollywood is at Wiltons Music Hall 3-7 November
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WHEN HEARING LOSS THREATENS TO ISOLATE SOMEONE, JDA STEPS IN With 1 in 3 people in our community now living with hearing loss, the need for JDA has reached heights never seen before. This Rosh Hashanah, while we celebrate 75 years of being a lifeline for deaf people and their families, we’re facing rising costs and rising demands. We need your help more than ever. Please support us as generously as you can, so we can be there for you, your family and everyone who needs us.
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Orthodox Judaism
MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA In our thought-provoking series, rabbis, rebbetzins and educators relate the week’s parsha to the way we live today RABBI YISROEL MEIR ZOBIN
UNIVERSITY JEWISH CHAPLAIN, LEEDS AND YORKSHIRE
Strength comes from being among our people In the picturesque Jezreel Valley in northern Israel sits a small village called Sulam. This has been identified as the site of the ancient city of Shunem, which is mentioned in the Book of Kings thanks to a great woman with legendary wisdom who lived there during the First Temple period. At that time, the prophet Elisha, the disciple of Elijah, was active in the region. This Shunamite woman recognised his holiness, and invited him regularly for meals, eventually building a furnished room in her loft where Elisha could stay whenever he was nearby. Elisha asked if there was a way he could reciprocate her kindness, offering to use his political connections to speak to the King on her behalf.
The Shunamite replied: “B’toch ami anochi yoshevet” (II Kings 4:13) – I live among my people and I don’t need special privileges. The Zohar, a core kabbalistic work, understands that this story happened on Rosh Hashanah, and the King to whom Elisha offered to speak was none other than God. The Shunamite declined the prophet’s offer to pray specifically for her because, in her humility, she didn’t want to be singled out from the rest of her community. She understood that her greatest strength stemmed from being included in the collective people of Israel and availing herself of their shared merits. Rosh Hashanah is a time when we want to attach ourselves to the rest of the Jewish nation and ensure that we define ourselves as part of that unique people. There are many ways we can do this, including gathering together in the synagogue, praying for the good of the wider community, or finding
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ways to be of service to the people around us through acts of kindness. On Rosh Hashanah, the Torah reading includes the story of the Binding of Isaac, in which Abraham showed superhuman strength in fulfilling God’s will. Thousands of years later, Abraham’s and Isaac’s descendants listen to this story and inspire themselves by connecting to the actions of their ancestors. After Abraham passes this great test, God promises that his descendants will multiply greatly, exemplifying their status as a blessed people. By identifying ourselves as part of the nation spiritually descended from Abraham, we merit the blessing bestowed upon him. These ideas resonate deeply with me after working as a University Jewish Chaplain over the past year. Despite ongoing challenges, communities of Jewish students continue to thrive on campuses around the country. This resilience comes from students refusing to
Sulam Village, northern Israel
stand alone. They remain proud of who they are and continue to support one another. It is inspirational to see the incredible interest Jewish students have in engaging with Jewish life on campus, and their proactive approach to building it. Like the Shunamite woman, they understand that our true strength comes from being amongst our people; united and proudly embracing our identity. Looking forward to the year ahead together, continuing to find confidence in our identities and proudly taking our place within the Jewish people.
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Progressive Judaism
LEAP OF FAITH RABBI CHARLEY BAGINSKY
CO-LEAD, THE MOVEMENT FOR PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM
This year we need to create room I have spent quite a lot of time thinking about elbows. Actual elbows. The ones you become conscious of when there are too many people in too small a space. Someone bumps you, you bump somebody else and almost without noticing everyone begins trying to make themselves fractionally smaller. At five foot tall, I do not have much smaller to go. There is a reason I am almost always in heels! Perhaps that is why I love the rabbinic description of the Temple in Jerusalem where people “stood crowded, but when they bowed there was space”. The rabbis do not imagine a community in which nobody gets in anybody else’s way. It is crowded. There are bodies and opinions and – presumably – elbows everywhere. And yet somehow there is room. That image has kept coming back to me alongside Psalm 118: “From the narrow place I called to God; God answered me with expansiveness.”
There has been a lot of narrowness this year. Public debate has become more polarised, but so too have some of our conversations within Jewish life. Words become badges of belonging. Disagreement can quickly become a question of whose side you are on, and sometimes whether you are really one of us at all. When that happens, people adjust themselves before they enter the room. We edit and we soften, we decide which parts of ourselves are safest to leave outside. I have never been especially good at making myself smaller. Physically, there is not much scope and temperamentally, even less. I am naturally an optimist, but mine is an optimism with sharp elbows. I believe deeply in what Jewish community can be, while knowing that communities can close ranks and institutions can get things wrong. We talk, rightly, about being visibly Jewish in the outside world. But there is another kind
A stimulating series where our progressive rabbis consider Judaism in the face of 21stcentury issues
of visibility which can be just as demanding: allowing ourselves to be fully seen by one another, including the bits that do not fit somebody else’s idea of what a Jew should believe, look like, say or be. For me, that is why the Hebrew word merchav is so beautiful. It is not niceness, and it is not agreement – it is room. Room for contradiction and argument and room for Jews who are inconvenient to one another. A genuinely expansive God has given us room to be – and to disagree Jewish community is not one without elbows. It is one in which we can asking whether the coming year will be stand crowded together and still make space; easier than the last. Instead, the question I where somebody else taking up room does care about is whether we can become more not mean there is less room for me; where we spacious within it. Merchav is not a miracle we should wait can argue without constantly redrawing the for – it is something we have to make for one boundaries of belonging. As 5787 begins, I am less interested in another. Elbows, heels and all!
MAY YOUR YEAR BE FULL OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY Wishing you a meaningful Rosh Hashanah and a sweet and happy new year.
שנה טובה ומתוקה
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