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THE CHOSEN PAPER 24 September 2026 • 13 Tishrei 5787 • Issue No.1490 •

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Raw focus Home comfort Ziv Koren’s 7 Oct images on show in London P26

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THE CHOSEN PAPER

Bibi arch rival seeks UK reset 24 September 2026 • 13 Tishrei 5787 • Issue No.1490 •

@JewishNewsUK

Yair Golan tells Jewish News: ‘Voters must rid politics of Netanyahu’s poison’ by Jenni Frazer jenni@jennifrazer.com @Jennifrazer

25 years lat er cised country. weeks after UK Foreign This weakens our Secretary Ed Miliband national security, announced co-ordinated international at a time when we sanctions against West need to strengthen Bank settlements, Miliband doubles dow it by working with n on Israel sanctions in Jewish News he said: “In the West as UK regional and interinterview -Israel ties hit historic low Bank, Israel must halt national partners”. But Golan also steps toward annexation and act decisively sounded a note of against Jewish teroptimism, as he rorism and violence believed that “once against Palestinians, we put Israel back to prevent further deteJewish News on track, we can also rioration and an explosion front page on restore its international standing, and repair relathat could endanger Israeli settlement tions with allies, and with security. In both Gaza and sanctions countries whose ties with the West Bank that means working with Palestinian leadership Israel have been damaged in recent years, because of the current governto replace Hamas”. The soldier and politician spoke ment’s policies. Liberal Israel is part bitterly about the actions of the cur- of the family of democratic nations rent government, saying: “This gov- around the world”. In the last few weeks, Golan has ernment is leading Israel down a dangerous path, turning it into an launched legal action in response to a isolated and internationally ostra- conspiracy theory aired on television Karlind

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Ed Miliban d has firmly rejected allegatio security of British Jews ns that he’s new sanction at putting the s against Israel.risk with his announc ement of tough The foreign secretary also communal leaders, including revealed he disregard ed pleas Deputies and Chief Rabbi the Ephraim Mirvis, from Jewish trade sanctions Jewish Leadership Council the Board of , not to announc what is happeninafter deciding that “a strategy e West Bank g is of passivity In an exclusive not a strategy”. in the face of interview with London on Jewish News Tuesday, the in his office Jewish former gations that in central Labour Party he was putting leader rejected the security “I don’t accept of British Jews allethat,” Miliband Jews because said. “Any person at risk. of the actions who targets in my view. of the Israeli British That’s very, government very importan plainly. Indeed, t, and I couldn’t is an antisemite I think that view is shared have and I believe we all have across the House said it more a responsib ernment, as of Common ility to a society. I say s, that loudly and protect British Jews as He added: “I a govclearly.” don’t think of questions. anyone should There are British be conflating the actions of these two sets Jews going the about their lives, there are ship with Israel. Israeli government, and then there is I want our relationa strong and flourishing relationship with Israel.” Miliband strongly disputed claims that sanctions could now jeopardise Continued on page 2

Yair Golan meeting supporters during a rally in Rabin Square

by Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, who suggested that his response to 7 October came as a result of some prior knowledge of what was going to happen. He told Jewish News that he could not stand aside from taking her to court at the same time as his party was

campaigning for the 27 October elections. He said: “The poison machine has been spreading lies, incitement and poisonous rhetoric against political opponents for far too long. We cannot simply stand by and remain silent in the face of such a Continued on page 2

POLICE FOIL YOM KIPPUR TERROR PLOT

Two men were arrested

Two men in their 30s have been arrested over a suspected terrorist plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area during Yom Kippur, police have said, writes Joy Falk. The pair were arrested in Newton Street, Manchester, and taken to a London police station where they currently remain in custody, the Metropolitan Police said. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national co-ordi-

nator for counter-terrorism policing (CTP), said “This has been a long-running proactive investigation which has led to the disruption of what we believe to be a plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area.” She added: “We are acutely aware this news will cause further concern to the Jewish community, as well as the wider public, especially given the signiﬁcant high holy day period. “I want to reassure them we are

working incredibly closely with colleagues in Greater Manchester Police and partners to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep them and the wider public safe. “And more broadly, across the country CTP is working with local police forces to provide protective security support and advice for areas with Jewish communities, and particularly during the High Holy Day period.” A spokesperson for the CST said:

“This is utterly chilling, coming so close to the anniversary of the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Synagogue last year, and is another reminder of the serious terrorist threat facing Jewish communities in this current time. We have been in close communication with police in Manchester and around the country throughout Yom Kippur. We want to thank the police and other agencies for their work protecting the Jewish community and British society as a whole.”

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 24 September 2026

News / Yair Golan interview

Golan pledges to restore ‘sanity’ to Israeli politics Continued from page 1 campaign. Sometimes you have to act, set a boundary and defend public discourse and people who are harmed by the dissemination of lies and incitement”. Golan made it clear that his party would only go into government with those who had not been in the governing coalition on 7 October 2023. He said: “The next government, of which we intend to be a part, must be made up of parties that were not part of the 7 October government. Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman are all potential future partners. For us, the test will be the ability to form a government that can deliver meaningful change and repair — and take Israel off the dangerous path on which the current government has set it”. He added: “When we enter the next government, we will work to put Israel back on the path of being a sane, democratic and strong country, working for security, stability and prosperity across our region, and connected to the family of liberal and democratic nations around the world”. Netanyahu has been prime minister for more than 19 years over three separate periods. It has often been said that he keeps getting re-elected, not only because of a collective amnesia by Israeli society, but because the peace camp can’t get its act together. Why is this time any different, Golan is asked. What will get Netanyahu out of office and the

Yair Golan with Benjamin Netanyahu at an IDF ceremony in Jerusalem in 2019

centre-left over the line? He replied: “Since 7 October, the people of Israel have been expressing themselves clearly and decisively. Support for the current government has fallen to unprecedented lows, and rightly so. The public understands that this government has failed and that profound change is needed. “I believe this is an opportunity to replace the current government with a government of change and repair, a government that will

STUDENT CLEARED OVER 7 OCT SPEECH An activist has been At an earlier trial, cleared of voicing supshe was found not guilty port for Hamas at a of a second charge of student rally outside expressing support for her university two days Hamas on a WhatsApp after the 7 October group. Throughout her Hamas terror attack on first trial in the summer Israel which left 1,200 and subsequent retrial Israelis dead. in September, proSarah Cotte, 22, Sarah Cotte Palestine activists had living in Camden, offered staged vocal protests “unconditional solidarity” with the outside the Old Bailey. Palestinian armed resistance during In October 2023, Cotte had been a speech outside a London college on a 19-year-old student reading poliOctober 9 2023, the Old Bailey was tics, philosophy and economics at told. the School of Oriental and African The prosecution had asserted Studies (Soas), which is part of the that even though she did not name University of London. Hamas, her comments at the gathOn 9 October 2023, she gave a ering publicised on Instagram were speech to a rally of between 60-70 “thinly veiled references” to it. people outside Soas in which she Cotte, an Ethiopian who also has expressed “unconditional solidarity French citizenship, had denied that with the Palestinian armed resisther comments were about Hamas, ance”, jurors were told. saying she had been supporting “the Cotte had also said that “Israel right to resist”. has existed for 27,540 days but in Following a week-long retrial, less than one day it has been nearly Cotte, from Camden, north London, brought to its knees by righteous Palwas found not guilty of expressing estinian resistance.” support for a proscribed organisaThe jury deliberated for less than tion. two hours before reaching its verdict.

put Israel back on track and restore responsibility, professionalism and effective governance to the heart of decision-making”. Among Golan’s strongest criticisms of the Netanyahu government, was in May 2025, saying that Israel risked becoming an international pariah state. He stated then: “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.” He clarified these remarks by saying they

were directed solely at Netanyahu’s government — which he accused of celebrating the death and starvation of children — and not at IDF soldiers or the military itself. He had previously been strongly critical of the behaviour of the IDF combat medic Elor Azaria, who in 2016 shot dead a Palestinian who had stabbed an Israeli soldier in Hebron. Azaria received a presidential pardon from Isaac Herzog on Saturday night, nearly a decade after the case, which became a leftright flashpoint in Israel. Explaining his decision to go into politics after the Azaria event, Golan said: “After serving my country for 38 years in uniform, I saw processes unfolding that worried me deeply. As deputy chief of staff of the IDF in 2016, I spoke about hatred, extremism and polarisation in our society, and the need for responsible leadership. “I could not simply stand on the side-lines. I felt that I had to take responsibility and act in order to influence the direction in which the country was heading”. He said his harsh criticism “of the government and its members remains unchanged… When we enter the next government, we will work to put Israel back on the path of being a sane, democratic and strong country, working for security, stability and prosperity across our region, and connected to the family of liberal and democratic nations around the world”. • Editorial comment, page 20

Aid worker inquest may examine IDF role The inquest into the deaths of three British aid workers killed in a drone strike in Gaza may widen its scope to examine the role of the IDF and the commander allegedly responsible for ordering the attack, writes Lee Harpin. James Kirby, 47, John Chapman, 57, and James “Jim” Henderson, 33, were among seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers killed on April 1, 2024, when their marked convoy was struck by Israeli armed drones. All three men, former members of the British Armed Forces, were working for Dorset-based security firm Solace Global at the time. At a hearing in Avon Coroner’s Court on Monday, senior coroner Maria Voisin considered whether to grant “interested person” status— which allows participation in proceedings—to the IDF and Colonel Nochi Mendel, the officer alleged to have ordered the strike. Counsel to the inquest, Alison Hewitt, stated: “It is right to say

Vehicle driven by the WCK workers killed in Gaza

that as part of the background facts, there has been a recognition that the deaths resulted from strikes ordered by or on behalf of Israeli Defence Forces and, it is said, specifically by Colonel Mendel.” Voisin responded that she was “minded to grant” the status, confirming: “I think it is fair to say that this whole process today is going to be kept under review. This is the

first pre-inquest review, I think we all know there will be another, and maybe another, before we are ready in any shape or form to hear the evidence and come to any conclusions.” Adam McGuire, cousin of James Kirby, voiced the families’ ongoing frustration: “Nobody has ever explained to us why it happened.” The drone strike killed seven aid workers in total.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

24 September 2026 Jewish News

Conflict poll / Burnham at UN / News

Moderate majority: most Brits refuse to take sides over Gaza Nearly two-thirds of Britons still refuse to take a side in the Israel-Palestine conflict almost three years after the 7 October attacks, major new research reveals, writes Annabel Sinclair. A nationwide study by More in Common found 62 percent of the public either sympathise with both sides, neither side, or do not know where they stand. Despite the conflict dominating political debate and protests across Britain, just 12 percent say they sympathise more with Israel and 26 percent with the Palestinians. Green voters are the striking exception, with 62 percent saying they sympathise with Palestinians. But the research, commissioned by the Pears Foundation, also reveals deepening concern about the safety of British Jews. Just 43 percent now regard the UK as a safe place for Jewish people, down from 55 percent in May 2024. An equal proportion say it is unsafe. Six in ten believe it has become more dangerous to be Jewish in Britain over the past few years, while 39 percent expect anti-Jewish hate crime to continue rising. Just nine percent think it will fall. The findings follow a series of serious antisemitic incidents and attacks, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green in April and an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in the area weeks earlier. Most Britons have consistently declined to take a side in the Israel-Palestine conflict, with the new polling showing 62 percent backing both sides equally, neither side or saying they are unsure. The impact was also raised during a focus group held for the research in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, near the site of the

Heaton Park Synagogue attack. One participant described a friend wearing a Star of David necklace being harassed by pro-Palestinian protesters at a march. Another said Jewish neighbours now remove their Star of David necklaces before going into town because they fear being targeted. Kevin, a 68-year-old retired police officer who took part, said: “The community feels a need to spend, I would imagine, in the millions of pounds just to protect themselves so they can go about their daily life. Kids can go to school, they can go to shops, they can pray, they can worship. I think the government has got to take a massive responsibility for that.” More in Common has tracked attitudes towards the conflict since shortly after 7 October, 2023.

Andy Burnham has told the United Nations General Assembly that the Hamas attack on 7 October and ongoing threats from Iran against Israel and Jewish people worldwide, “does not justify” the actions taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Gaza and the West Bank, writes Lee Harpin. In his first speech to the UN gathering in New York, the prime minister described the Hamas attack in October 2023 as “utterly horrific.” He said: “I have condemned 7 October in the strongest possible terms. We continue to condemn Hamas, and we stand with Israel in the face of the ongoing threats, including from Iran, against Israel and Jewish people around the world.” However, Burnham insisted: “This does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank; far too many people have died, including so many children. Far too little aid is getting in, and it has gone on for far too long.” He then spoke of UK action against Israel over West Bank settlement expansion saying:”Just eight weeks into becoming prime

minister, working with my Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, I comprehensively reset our position and we built an international coalition of countries to come with us.” “We will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow, and the prospect of a two-state solution, the best hope for peace and stability for both nations, comes under attack.” “Last month, Israel issued tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement, which would drive a wedge through the West Bank and threaten to put a viable Palestinian state beyond reach,” continued Burnham. “It cannot be allowed to happen.” He said: “So we have acted by banning trade in goods with illegal settlements, recognising that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful, and sanctioning those participating in the construction of illegal settlements.” We want to see the suffering and death finally come to an end. “We want to see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security, and we will do all we can to keep hope for that possibility alive. We also recognise that we live in an age of low trust in politics.”

A pro-Palestinian demonstration in London. New research finds most Britons refuse to take either side in the conflict

The proportion sympathising more with Israel has fallen from 16 percent in November 2023 to 12 percent, while sympathy for the Palestinian side has risen from 18 to 26 percent. The latter figure remains below its 29 percent peak in July 2025. Young people stand apart from the wider population, with 46 percent of 18 to 24-year olds saying they sympathise more

with the Palestinian side. There are also significant political differences. Some 38 percent of Labour supporters and 36 percent of Liberal Democrat supporters sympathise more with the Palestinians. Reform voters are the only group more likely to sympathise with Israel than the Palestinians, by 34 percent to 10 percent.

PM: 7 October does not justify Gaza war

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Jewish News 24 September 2026

News / Catholic Church / School fears / Edgware scare

Church sorry for award on 9/11 to bin Laden apologist The Church of England is “urgently reviewing” the circumstances around the Archbishop of Canterbury giving an interfaith award – on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks – to an individual who previously described Osama bin Laden as “a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British”, writes Adam Decker. Last Friday, Dame Sarah Mullally presented Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi with the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith co-operation at Lambeth Palace. However, the National Secular Society subsequently pointed out that in 2007, the Pakistan Ulema Council, which Ashrafi heads, had bestowed the honorary title of “Saifullah”, or sword of Allah, on Osama Bin Laden. In comments made to Reuters at the time, Ashrafi linked this to knighthood which had been given to the author Salman Rushdie, whose book The Satanic Verses was deemed by many religious Muslims to be offensive to their faith. “If a blasphemer can be given the title ‘Sir’ by the West despite the fact he’s hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam,

The Archbishop of Canterbury presenting Hafiz Ashrafi with the interfaith award

Saifullah,” Reuters cited Ashrafi as telling them. In a statement from the Pakistan Ulema Council, a spokesman said that “regarding Osama Bin Laden, Ashrafi’s remarks have been presented without their proper context. His comparison was not an endorsement of Bin Laden; it was made in the context of explaining the hurt felt by many Muslims over the British honour given to Salman Rushdie.

His longstanding record against violence and extremism should be considered when assessing such remarks.” Following a fatwa [religious decree] by the former Supreme Leader of the Iranian Regime, Ayatollah Khomeini, calling for his assassination and offering a $3 million bounty, Rushdie has spent much of the last few decades in hiding. In 2022, Rushdie was stabbed 15

times by Hadi Matar, an American-born dualnational US-Lebanese citizen, as he prepared to speak at an event in New York. Rushdie was severely injured but survived the attack. National Secular Society spokesperson Alejandro Sanchez said: “It is obscene, and almost beyond parody, that the archbishop of Canterbury has awarded an Osama Bin Laden apologist an interfaith award on the anniversary of 9/11. This demonstrates appallingly poor judgement and is an insult to the victims of 9/11 and their families. “Interfaith engagement must not mean overlooking support for extremism. The archbishop of Canterbury should explain what due diligence was undertaken, whether those responsible knew about his actions, and whether the award will now be withdrawn.” A Lambeth Palace spokesperson said: “It is a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue and co-operation that we must engage with one another across deeply-held differences. “However, previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn.”

KS HIGH SCHOOL MAY CLOSE King Solomon High School faces closure next summer, after a sharp fall in pupil numbers left hundreds of places empty and put growing pressure on its finances. Governors at the Jewish secondary school in Ilford have launched a consultation on plans to close it on 31 August 2027. No final decision has been made, and the school will remain open while the consultation takes place. But new documents seen by Jewish News reveal the scale of the problems facing King Solomon, which has served the community since 1993. The school has 515 pupils across Years 7 to 11, despite having space for 900. That means 385 places are empty. King Solomon is officially an 11-to-18 school, but its sixth form currently has no pupils and is

also included in the closure proposal. The school stopped admitting new Year 12 pupils in 2024 after too few students applied to make the year group financially viable. Only 55 pupils joined Year 7 this month, even though the school had 180 places available. Falling pupil numbers also mean the school receives less money, while many of the costs of running it remain the same. King Solomon is expected to spend around £809,000 more than it receives during the current financial year. Its total deficit is expected to reach around £917,000. Governors looked at keeping the school open for an extra year, until summer 2028, so pupils currently in Year 10 could finish their GCSEs there.

Man arrested after Edgware gun scare forced school into lockdown

Open day 4th November pm. Visit sacksmorasha.org.uk/book-a-visit to book your place.

A man has been arrested after a gun scare in Edgware forced a Jewish school and other nearby venues into lockdown. The 22-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear, the Metropolitan Police said. Officers recovered the item believed to have been carried during the incident and sent it for further testing. Police were called to a residential area in Edgwarebury Lane at around 3.50pm on

Wednesday after reports of a man carrying what appeared to be a firearm. Several eyewitnesses told officers they believed the object was a toy. The sighting prompted Menorah Grammar School to temporarily lock down as a precaution, with pupils instructed to remain in their classrooms. Other venues, including schools and synagogues, were also briefly locked down. The restrictions were later lifted, and no injuries were reported.

Man sent schools and synagogues into lockdown

www.jewishnews.co.uk

24 September 2026 Jewish News

Green Party debate / Archbishop meeting / News

OF E HEAD IN Polanski calls for rethink of CBOARD MEETING ‘Zionism is racism’ motion Zack Polanski has labelled the hugely controversial “Zionism is Racism” motion set to be debated at next month’s Green Party conference “unhelpful” and a “distraction”, writes Lee Harpin. The Green Party leader also called for it to be amended as he reflected on how he had “de-Zionized” himself. In a lengthy interview for broadcaster Mehdi Hasan’s new Zeteo subscriber-only platform, Polanski also appeared to suggest that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians was a failure to learn the lessons of the Holocaust. Discussing his move away from his background as a young Jewish Zionist into someone who is now deeply critical of the actions of the Jewish state, he said: “When you do know the truth, when you have that experience and open your eyes to it… I feel, as a Jewish person, a responsibility to say, when I grew up in my teenage years, understanding about the Holocaust and the history of the Jewish race, ‘never again’ means never again. “Not just for one group of people, but for every single group of people.” Interviewed by Hasan and former ITV journalist and Zeteo political editor Shehab Khan, the Green leader was asked about the

Zack Polanski speaks to Zeteo

“Zionism is racism” motion pushed by hardline pro-Palestine members of his party, and how he planned to vote on it. Polanski was also asked by Khan at the same time if he was “comfortable” with a motion that stated, “Palestinians have a right to resistance.” He responded: “Well, the first thing is, Palestinians definitely have a right to resistance. Everyone has a right to resistance within international human rights.” Then, dealing with the motion on Zionism, Polanski said that while he was “proud to lead a party that is having these

EVERY

L A S T

conversations,” it was “also true that there are conversations the party has that I think are less helpful at the moment.” He continued: “Now the problem with the label Zionism, as with any label, is it means different things to different people. “I think it’s pretty clear that if what you’re talking about is Zionism, is what this Israeli government is carrying out in the name of Zionism, which is the genocide and displacement of Palestinian people, then of course that’s quite obviously racist. It’s a genocide. “I don’t think it’s a big jump to say it’s racist. There are two problems I have with the motion, and if they’re amended, then I think it will make a better motion.” He added: “It is also true that there’s conversations the party has that I think are less helpful at the moment. I think what I want to focus on as party leader is ending the genocide. The ‘Zionism is racism’ motion recently topped a member vote of policy proposals, placing it at the forefront of the party’s autumn conference agenda, which begins on 2 October. If passed the Green Party would become the first mainstream UK political party to formally declare itself an antiZionist party

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg and the Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally met to discuss “the challenges of recent months” – including a vote at the Church of England’s synod to “hear” a motion which included the notorious Kairos II document which the board described as spreading “a toxic narrative about Jews”. The meeting at Lambeth Palace was described as “a constructive and positive discussion”, with topics including “Christian-Jewish relations in the UK and the deep religious, cultural and historical ties of the Jewish people with the land of Israel”. The board said it had also “conveyed the concerns of the Jewish community” regarding Kairos II.

EDGWARE DAD FOUND DEAD A father-of-seven from Edgware was found dead in woodland in Uman during the Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the Ukrainian city. British Jew Yitzchak “Alex” Elmkies, was found in a wooded area on Kotsiubynskoho Street at around midday. Ukrainian police have opened an investigation and ordered forensic examinations to establish the cause of his death. Elmkies was a regular visitor to Uman, where tens of thousands of Jews travel each year for Rosh Hashanah to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.

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Jewish News 24 September 2026

Special Report / Beginner’s guide to the Israeli elections

Ballots, blocs and Bibi

Israeli voters will soon elect the Knesset’s 120 members - and decide who forms a coalition. Our explainer sets out how the system works by Daniel Sugarman daniel.sugarman@jewishnews.co.uk @Daniel_Sugarman

On Tuesday 27 October, Israel will hold its legislative elections, which will determine all 120 seats in the Knesset, the country’s Parliament. The result of this vote will determine who leads the next Israeli government. However, the Israeli political system is very different from that of some other democracies – notably, the UK and the USA. This explainer sets out how the Israeli electoral system works, provides information about different political parties, and shows how a variety of different options depend on the overall result. The Electoral System Israel has a unicameral system, meaning that its Parliament has one legislative chamber with the power to pass laws (as Denmark, New Zealand or Greece), rather than two (as in the UK, France or Australia). Israel’s Parliament is called the Knesset (the Hebrew word for Assembly); a direct reference to the Knesset HeGedolah, the Great Assembly, present in Israel from roughly 520 BCE-335 BCE. The membership of that body, comprised of the wisest and most respected of the Jewish people, were known as the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah – the men of the great assembly – there were 120 of them, a number deliberately chosen for the Knesset in modern Israel to mirror that earlier period. Israel also uses a Proportional Representation voting system. One of the direct consequences is that no single party in Israel’s political history has won an outright majority of Knesset seats, meaning that the country has never had a government which was not a coalition made up of a number of different parties – some with very different viewpoints on certain issues. Such coalitions can also shift, with different parties entering or leaving, depending on circumstance and political climate. Like most Parliamentary democracies, in Israel the Prime Minister must themselves be a member of the Knesset. Unlike some other countries, including the UK and USA, Knesset seats are not connected to an individual constituency or district. Approximately eight weeks before an election, each political party submits a list of ranked candidates. The number of candidates who get elected to represent a party in the Knesset will depend on the percentage of the overall vote which that party receives, meaning that the higher up the list you are, the more likely you are to be elected. Israel’s system also contains an electoral threshold – since 2015, parties must receive at least 3.25% of the votes (equivalent to 4 seats) in order to receive any Knesset seats at all. In response to this, smaller parties will sometimes form short-term alliances, becoming a joint entity specifically with the intention of clearing the electoral threshold, and often breaking into their component parts again postelection. This is not viewed as breaking any rules, and parties from the entire breadth of the political spectrum will regularly do this.

Battle lines: Yair Golan, Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot are gearing up for an election showdown on 27 October

The Political Parties While the early decades of Israeli politics were dominated by the Left – until 1977, every Prime Minister of Israel was either from the Labor party or its predecessors – in recent decades the Left in Israel has shrunk considerably, with various right-wing parties having held the balance of power for most of the 21st century. Some of Israel’s political parties are longstanding, while others have formed only recently. As opposed to many other democracies, individuals will often found their own political parties, based on the strength either of their personality or their record. In a country where military service is compulsory for secular people, former senior military officers will often run for political office. Among other candidates, the upcoming election will see two parties led by former IDF Chiefs of Staff (Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot), two others led by former generals (Yair Golan and Ofer Winter), as well as those led by individuals who previously served in Israel’s elite commando units (Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett and Yoaz Hendel). However, for senior security officials – Major General and above, and heads of Israel’s security services – the Shin Bet and Mossad – there is a legally required “cooling off period” of three years before they can run for political office. This law is specifically designed to create a clear separation between the military and politics. For reasons of brevity, the following list will contain only the parties who are considered to have a chance of reaching the 3.25% threshold: The Democrats – Led by Major General (res) Yair Golan, they are a merger between the much-diminished centre-left Israeli Labor Party, and the left wing Meretz party. The Joint List – An alliance of the Arab Israeli Hadash, Ta’al and Balad parties The Likud Party – led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is the longstanding and largest party of the right. It has moved further rightward in recent years. Otzma Yehudit – a far right party (Otzma

Yehudit literally means ‘Jewish Power’) headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir Religious Zionist Party-Zehut – An alliance between two far right parties – the Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, and the Zehut Party led by Moshe Feiglin, Shas – A strictly Orthodox party which traditionally represents the interest of Charedi Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews, founded by the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. While ultimate authority is in the hands of a Rabbinical council (led by Rabbi Yosef’s son), its leading politician is Aryeh Deri. Together – An alliance between the right wing party founded by Naftali Bennett (Bennett 2026), and the centre-right party led by Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid). United Arab List (Raam) – An Arab party led by Mansour Abbas. Made headlines recently after Yoav Segalovitz, a former senior Israeli police officer and MK for Yesh Atid, announced he would be joining Raam’s list for this election. United Torah Judaism – A longstanding strictly orthodox political alliance, traditionally seen as representing Charedi Ashkenazi Jews. Yashar – A new centre-right party led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, which is considered likely to win the largest number of seats in the upcoming election. Yisrael Beiteinu – originally founded to primarily represent secular immigrants from the USSR, this right wing party has been led since its inception by Avigdor Lieberman. In 1992, a Parties Law mandated that only legally registered parties can submit a list of candidates for inclusion in the choices which voters will receive on election day – meaning that the array of independent candidates that run in individual constituencies in the UK, for example, are not present. However, the “Alei Yarok” (Green Leaf ) party, was a fixture in Israeli elections in the 2000s, coming relatively close to what was then the threshold for Knesset seats. Similarly, Israel’s Pirate Party will be one of those contesting the October election, as it has done since its founding in 2012.

Polling Day Israel’s election day is a national holiday and absentee voting is largely prohibited. This means that, apart from diplomats serving abroad, any Israeli citizens who are outside the country must return to Israel in person to cast their ballot. In the polling booth, voters are presented with multiple slips of paper, each with Hebrew specific Hebrew letters on, representing the different party lists. The system can be complex, because parties which have a longstanding use of a certain letter have the right to prevent another party using a similar name. To cast their ballot, the voter simply picks the slip which has the letters linked to the party they wish to support, puts it into an envelope, which they then seal, and place it in the ballot box. Once the polls have closed, the Israeli Elections Committee is responsible for handcounting the votes. The Aftermath After the votes are counted and the Knesset seats are all allotted, the horse trading begins. The President, who is meant to be apolitical, will consult all the different party leaders. They will give one of those leaders (usually the one either with the most seats or who is deemed to have the best chance of forming a coalition), the chance to attempt to form a governing coalition – although all parties will have already been in discussions on the subject. 61 is the magic number needed for a majority. In 2022, Netanyahu managed to negotiate a coalition of 64 seats, leaving him able to form the government. Prior to that, however, Israel had experienced four years of political crisis, with repeated elections held due to a persistent inability to effectively form a coalition. In theory, the party leader chosen by the President will have four weeks to attempt to build a coalition. If that leader fails, the President can then give another party leader the opportunity to try, or can decide to send the decision to the Knesset.

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24 September 2026 Jewish News

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News / Hodge memoir / Heaton inquiry

Hodge reveals ‘antisemite’ vote protest Baroness Hodge has revealed she spoiled her general election ballot in 2019 when living in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency, writing “antisemite” all over the ballot paper rather than casting a vote for the then Labour leader – and saying Ed Miliband “refused to get involved” in the fight against antisemitism in the party, writes Joy Falk. In her memoir, Battleaxe, published last week, the veteran Labour Parliamentarian, who served as MP for Barking from 1994-2024, and as leader of Islington Council from 1982-1992, devotes a chapter to describing what she calls “fighting for the soul of the Labour party”. She said she originally rejected the idea Corbyn was antisemitic but “the evidence about Jeremy Corbyn’s own attitude to Jews continued to mount up”, citing Corbyn’s defence of an antisemitic mural, his presence at a wreath laying ceremony for Palestinians involved in the

they were abandoning the party. I 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack, felt that I was banging my head his reluctance to accept the full against a brick wall, because I IHRA definition of antisemitism simply could not get the leadand his comments about two ership to engage. I remember British Jews, in which he said: shouting at Ed Miliband as “having lived in this country we were both getting into for a very long time, probably a lift in Portcullis House, all their lives, they don’t underadmonishing him for refusing stand English irony either”. to engage with the issue. ‘You’re She eventually formed a group one of the few people who could get with three other Jewish female MPs, all facing reams of antisemitic Baroness Hodge him to change his approach’, I told him, but this son of immigrant Jews and misogynistic abuse – Luciana Berger, Ruth Smeeth and Louise Ellman. In her fleeing from Nazism refused to get involved. “I remember angrily telling another Jewish recounting, other Jewish MPs were less keen to male MP, Fabian Hamilton, that he should not combat the Jew hate within the party. “Battling against antisemitism in my party be giving Corbyn credibility by serving in his shadow government – to which his lame reply was grim”, she writes. “Week after week, Jewish friends, col- was that Corbyn was the only Labour leader leagues and acquaintances were telling me who had ever offered him a job.”

The memoir also describes the battle against the far-right British National Party, which won local council seats in Barking in the 2000s, and against Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, who stood as a candidate in Barking at the 2010 general election. “At one polling station a BNP activist yelled at me to ‘Go back to Germany.’ ‘I can’t do that,’ I shouted back. ‘They killed all my relatives.’ Baroness Hodge also describes a notorious incident in which she told Jeremy Corbyn to his face that she thought he was an antisemite – although she says that she did not swear at him. The memoir describes the decision whether to stay or leave Labour during that period as “hugely difficult for all of us … (but) as a member of the Labour Party for over fifty years, I was not prepared to surrender my party to the extreme left, and I believed it was worth one more attempt to defeat Corbyn and Corbynism.”

PUBLIC INQUIRY CALLED FOR OVER SYNAGOGUE ATTACK The chief coroner hearing inquests into the deaths of two men killed in the attack on a Manchester synagogue is to ask the government to hold a public inquiry instead. Judge Alexia Durran said she will write to home secretary Shabana Mahmood to recommend the action. It follows the deaths of Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin

Cravitz, 66, following the attack by Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a Syrian-born British citizen, on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester last October. At an earlier hearing, Home Office lawyers applied to withhold some information from MI5 being made public at a future inquest due to national security concerns.

Inquests have no mechanism to hold secret or private hearings, which exclude press and public. To carry out a full investigation involving hearing sensitive material in private would require a public inquiry – which can hold hearings behind closed doors. Judge Durran made the decision to ask for a public inquiry

be established following a preinquest hearing on 4 September, when government lawyers said if the MI5 material was released, it would harm national security. Lawyers for the families of the victims have questioned the move, noting authorities have stated publicly Al-Shamie was not known to security services.

Adrian Daulby, left, and Melvin Cravitz

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24 September 2026 Jewish News

Leeds lights / Bookshop anger / Protests blocked / News

BAN ON Leeds lights for Yom Kippur POLICE PROTESTS WAS Landmarks across Leeds were illuminated blue on Sunday evening to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Civic buildings across the city were lit up for the Day of Atonement, which brought the high holy days to a close. Leeds City Council announced the display ahead of the festival, saying: “This Sunday buildings across the city will be lit up in blue to mark the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur concludes the 10-day period known as the Days of Awe, which begins with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Yom tov to all those observing!” It was the second time in less than two weeks that Leeds landmarks had turned blue for a Jewish festival. Buildings across

Leeds City Museum illuminated blue to mark Yom Kippur

the city centre were also illuminated for Rosh Hashanah, with Leeds City Council wishing Jewish residents a “Shanah Tova”. The Yom Kippur display

came just two days after Leeds Minster closed its controversial Stitch Their Names Together Gaza exhibition following evidence supplied by the Leeds

Jewish Representative Council suggesting at least 18 Hamas fighters were named on panels displayed inside the church. The Minster subsequently apologised for harming its relationship with parts of the Jewish community and said it would seek to rebuild trust. Rector Canon Paul Maybury said: “Leeds Minster seeks to work with all faith groups within the city and acknowledges that by hosting this exhibition we have harmed our relationship with some in the Jewish community for which we apologise and now seek to rebuild trust.” The church also issued an explicit condemnation of Hamas over the killing of civilians and the taking of hostages on 7 October 2023.

Arab bookshop stocks new antisemitic title A London Arabic bookshop that removed Mein Kampf from sale has been found stocking another book containing antisemitic claims about Jews, writes Annabel Sinclair. Aafaq Bookstore on Edgware Road is selling an Arabic-language title translated as So That We Do Not Forget: Jewish Crimes – Zionist

Resentment, which describes Jews as possessing “evil qualities” and presents material from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as credible. The book was uncovered by the Jewish Chronicle, weeks after Aafaq withdrew three Arabic-language copies of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto following a backlash.

Briti s

ud. ro

i w s h. P e J . h

The latest title is dedicated to “every martyr whose blood was shed on the land of Palestine, Jerusalem, and al Aqsa”. According to translations, its first chapter describes Jews as a “people who committed great sins and possess evil qualities, thus deserving the wrath of (God)”.

NOT UNLAWFUL A police ban on anti-Zionist protests in a highly Jewish area of north London was not unlawful, a High Court judge has said. The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network UK (IJAN-UK) held regular protests in the Swiss Cottage area between October 2023 and May 2025. The demonstrations, sometimes held weekly on a Friday evening, were joined by counter-protests by Stop The Hate UK, causing “confrontation, police intervention, complaints and arrests”, Mr Justice Sweeting said. The protests, which started after the Israeli response to the October 7 attacks, began outside the residence of the Israeli ambassador before moving to other areas in Swiss Cottage when legal restrictions were imposed by police. Protester Janet Simon, a Jewish resident of Camden, attempted to challenge the Metropolitan Police decision at the High Court. On Tuesday Mr Justice Sweeting said her claim should not proceed to a full hearing as police had made a lawful decision. The judge said: “The claimant contends that the restrictions effectively prevent IJAN-UK from protesting in the location which gives the protest its particular significance, namely an area containing a substantial Jewish community with whom the protesters seek to engage. “The defendant’s position is that restrictions were imposed in response to disruption affecting the local community and following a careful assessment of public order risks.”

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Jewish News 24 September 2026

Special Report

Jewish Care’s new jewel in Redbridge by Michelle Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.co.uk

Wednesday night was a nostalgic salt-beef special for 140 people at Jewish Care’s state-of-the-art Sugar & Ronson Campus in Redbridge, a new site bringing together care, community and support services under one roof for the Jewish community. After three years of building at a cost of £24.7 million, the first residents moved in on 10 August. Since then, the campus has been warmly welcoming members and visitors from across Essex and north east London, offering beds for 66 occupants, and providing nursing, dementia and end-of-life care, community services, mental health support and dementia programmes in a purpose-built environment designed to serve generations to come. With the Sugar and Ronson families being “cornerstone donors”, the Woodford Bridge Road campus includes The Sugar Family Care Home, the Ronson Community Centre, and The Dennis Centre for people living with dementia. It also serves as a base for Jami’s mental health services, Meals on Wheels volunteers and Jewish Care’s social work and community support team.

Inside, visitors are greeted by a spacious lounge featuring a range of Judaica in smart cabinets, brand-new art books displayed on coffee tables and artwork featuring local pictures from the East End and images of Israel. The dining area welcomes residents with place-names to encourage belonging and familiarity; when Jewish News visits, a group are enthusiastically taking on a few games of table tennis, lunch is being prepared and upstairs a resident is having her hair done in

New resident Corinne, previously a resident at Vi & John Rubens House

the salon by a volunteer. The Community Centre is also home to two kosher cafés, the only supervised kosher eateries in the area, providing welcoming spaces for people to meet over breakfast, coffee, lunch and conversation. From January 2027, the Centre will also be available to hire for simchas, meetings and community gatherings. Jewish News met the soon to be 91-year old Myrna Capaloff, who moved in from Vi & John Rubens House. Bent over in concentra- Naomi with husband Norman and daughter Nicole at tion on her armchair, she’s happily The Sugar & Ronson Campus knitting from a bag bursting with balls of bright green yarn; her room is filled Jewish Care unique.” with photographs of her children, grand-chilAcknowledging the generosity of the Sugar dren and great-grandchildren. family and the Ronson families, “alongside A self-confessed book-worm, she confesses: our other key donors and local community “the one I’m reading at the moment, I will be support”, he adds: “We are deeply grateful to very pleased to finish. I don’t like it.” Lynda La everyone who has helped make this vision a Plante, on the other hand, is a firm favourite. reality.” Apologising for asking for questions to be New resident Corinne said: “It looks like repeated, she says she’s “very naughty” and a hotel. Never in a million years did I think doesn’t wear her hearing aids. “I just can’t get I’d live in a place like this”. Fellow resident on with them,” she adds. Moving on to foot- Michael added: “The whole building is fabuball, she sighs deeply, saying “unfortunately, lous. They’ve done a wonderful job.” Spurs aren’t the team they were. My father Table tennis player Howard Johnston said: would have been mortified.” “I’ve been coming here since I was 6. I used Her favourite part of the new campus is her to come for ‘club’ and then as a teenager and room. “Look at this view,” she says, leaning I’ve been going along to table tennis for quite from her chair to open the curtain blinds. “Of a while. It’s great to have this lovely new space course, it’s raining, but you see the fields. Now, to play and to be sociable.” how many places would have a view like that. Meanwhile, The Dennis Centre provides I’ve got a garden here.” specialist, person-centred support for people Her birthday is 3 September. “The Second living with mild to moderate memory impairWorld War started on my fourth birthday. Obvi- ment or dementia, with members supported by ously I could never forget. We were evacuated trained staff and dedicated volunteers. [to Cambridgeshire]. Lovely people. We stayed Sharon Imber, community events coordifriendly with them until nator, says: “Every week they passed away.” there are opportunities She recalls making to get moving, have fun cheesecake and honand spend time with eycakes for Rosh others. Monday begins Hashanah. When it with a weekly walking comes to Shabbat, “I group, bringing people can tell you something together for exercise quite strange about and conversation, folthat. Being away in lowed by coffee in the the country, we didn’t café. Table tennis seshave Hebrew lessons. I sions take place twice a forgot my Hebrew. But, week, offering friendly and this is a big but, I Myrna Capaloff with her wedding photos competition for players remember the bracha of all abilities. for wine. Every week here, when they come “Those looking to focus on health and wellround with the wine, I say it. being can also join weekly yoga and Pilates “It’s been nice to meet you,” she says. “Like classes.” meeting an old friend.” She asks for a notable mention for the Jewish Care chief executive Daniel Carmel- monthly Ladies Lunch Club, which “combines Brown said: “Seeing residents move into their a delicious lunch with Kalooki, Rummikub and new home and community members walk Scrabble, while The Wednesday Club offers a through the doors for the first time has been relaxed afternoon of lunch, board games and incredibly moving. Every part of the campus table tennis. The Salt Beef Suppers are very has been designed with Jewish life, community popular, as are our lively entertainment nights and connection in mind. with tribute acts like The Beatles to the Bee “Although the campus is new, the ser- Gees and Britain’s Got Talent’s Jive Aces.” vices are delivered by the staff and teams Jewish News was, alas too early to sample that people already know. This means con- the salt beef, but left assured that recommentinuity, familiarity and trusted relationships dations for a cheese-cake dessert evening continue; this is at the heart of what makes would be taken under serious advisement.

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24 September 2026 Jewish News

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24 September 2026 Jewish News

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Ukraine war enters fifth winter / Special Report

Ukraine honours former MP for his wartime work by Daniel Sugarman daniel.sugarman@jewishnews.co.uk @Daniel_Sugarman

Newmark, Rabbi Atzman, Natan Sharansky

A Jewish Ukrainian soldier standing guard at security post in eastern Ukraine

said, because he represented, “somebody who wanted to address corruption in defence”. People, he says, “are just tired after night after night of bombing. And the bombing in the last three to six months has gotten much worse. Imagine you’re constantly sleep deprived; it leads to this sort of tension in civil society.” This exhaustion, he suggests, is something the Russians have fully intended to cause, as part of their hybrid warfare. “If they [the Russians] can break down society and get people to start fighting with each other, that plays into what they’re trying to do. They’re not just fighting Ukraine on the what I’d call the kinetic battlefield, i.e. dropping bombs, but in the cognitive war space.” Newmark has also seen this directly from a military perspective. In 2024 he started a company, Trypillian, to develop combat-proven technology, including deep strike systems, communication tools, and tactical drones. “The uptick and up pace of bombing and targeting civilians and civilian targets, particularly in Kyiv, is very bad”, he says. “The number of civilian deaths each time the Russians bomb is having a bigger impact. Part of the problem is the West, particularly America, is not giving Ukraine the equipment it needs. “There’s a whole group of people, my company included, developing interceptor drones, interceptor missiles, to try and deal with these. We’re finding technology keeps leapfrogging. Right now, they can deal with [Iranian developed] Shahid drones. But ballistic missiles, at the moment, there’s nothing there. Ukraine has no iron dome. When I was there a week ago, Russia fired 24 missiles; all 24 got through. “Every time Ukrainians improve technology, whether defensive or offensive, Russians counter it. Ukrainians are great at developing technology, but Russians are as well.” He feels that “the West more broadly has to do more to be supporting Ukraine with actions,

not just words...you’ve got to follow words with actions, and there has not been enough of that. “Unfortunately, we’re in a different era now. We’re seeing hybrid attacks, whether in Leipzig recently, or in Romania and Poland, where they’re using third parties or drones. This is part of low-level provocation by the Russians to see what will trigger NATO to do something. “But we need to understand that Russians don’t understand signals or proportionality. All they understand is getting punched in the face very hard. If you do that, then they understand you’re serious.”

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In February 2022, Brooks Newmark had returned from Rwanda, having completed doctorate research. The former MP was planning a holiday, when he heard Russia had invaded Ukraine. Instead of a sun lounger, Newmark found himself in Eastern Europe, helping evacuate thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, threatened by the Russian advance. Soon after, he would help found a charity, Angels in Ukraine, initially focused on the evacuation effort, but later, as the front line stabilised, getting involved in helping with other elements of life in a country during wartime. Last month, Newmark was notified that he would receive the country’s Order of Merit, given for outstanding achievement and significant contributions to the nation. In the UK the Honours system informs recipients well before any public announcement, but for a country in wartime, things work slightly differently. “I was there [in Kyiv] on Independence Day”, Newmark told Jewish News. “I was invited by the first lady… I’m sitting listening to her speech, and I get a WhatsApp message from the Ukrainian embassy in London saying, ‘Congratulations on your award’ I said: ‘What award?’ And they said, “You got the Order of Merit’. And they sent me the press release, which was in Ukrainian, so I couldn’t read it. But, anyway, I was very pleased.” It was a particular pleasure for Newmark, given the company he was in. “It was a great coincidence, because just before I was with Natan Sharansky, whom I had heard was getting the Order of Merit as well. So luckily I got this amazing photo of me, Natan Sharansky and the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine [Moshe Atzman].” Newmark has previously described how his move to Ukraine has seen him develop a close link with Rabbi Atzman, reconnecting with his Judaism. Having spent almost half his time in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, last year he purchased an apartment in Kyiv. The nature of the work done by Angels in Ukraine has shifted, too. At the beginning of the war, Newmark reflected, “we were based in Kharkiv, 25 kilometres from the front line, and covering small villages, evacuating people. But then when the Ukrainians pushed out the Russians from many of these villages, we did a lot of humanitarian aid drops. “Then we set up a PTSD training program; we try to make sure that almost every school has an adult trained in PTSD. That is ongoing.” The initial training, he said, came from Israel - “the group we used originally used to provide PTSD support for children who lived very close to Gaza and were constantly getting shelled.” I ask Newmark what the feeling in Ukraine is, given recent protests over the sacking of the Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov. “The mood is not good”, he responds. “We’re now in year five of the war, so people are getting hugely emotionally stressed”. There was anger over Fedorov’s sacking, he

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Kosher-halal feast / News

Kosher-Halal food served in ‘historic interfaith first’ Food approved by both the Halal Food Authority and the Kosher Authority was served at an interfaith book launch in what organisers said was a historic first, writes Rosa Doherty. “This is a first – and it is amazing,” declared author Rick Sopher, as Jewish and Muslim religious leaders came together to discuss peace, scripture and the ties that bind their faiths together. “Normally at other [interfaith] events when it is time to eat Jews go one way to eat and Muslims would go the other which never made sense,” said Sopher about the separate way food is typically prepared for Muslims and Jews. He explained both Muslim and Jewish food authorities had gone to great lengths to work together to ensure the two faith groups could eat the same food by working together to approve the food on the evening. The historic moment happened

on the same day the British Government announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Government’s announcement was the subject nobody mentioned. While diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel deteriorated outside the room, those inside focused on the quieter work of building trust. The occasion was the launch of Illuminating Scriptural Connections: A Qur’anic Commentary on the Torah, a book by Rick Sopher and Professor Abdulla Galadari which examines each of the Torah’s 54 weekly portions through the lens of the Qur’an. Sopher says it draws out the stories, principles and language shared by the two scriptures, while also confronting their differences and the passages which have historically caused tension. Sopher, the chief executive of Edmond de Rothschild Capital

Mufti Abdul Wahab, on behalf of Halal Food Authority, who provided the certification, and Philip Maurice, Kashrut Division of London Beth Din

Holdings who has become a prominent figure in interfaith dialogue, was interviewed at the launch by Imam Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi. Galadari, an associate professor of Islamic studies at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, was unable to attend because of teaching commitments.

Razawi described the book as “profound and powerful” and praised its role in “building a culture of reading scriptures together”. Explaining its central argument, Sopher said: “What it tries to show is the deep connections between the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible. “Our book is intended to show

that Jewish and Muslim communities, through their scriptures, are deeply connected.” Sopher argued that a lack of knowledge about each other’s sacred texts had allowed suspicion and fear to flourish. When speaking to Jewish audiences, he regularly asks how many people have read the Qur’an. “Nobody has read the Qur’an,” he said of the response he often receives. “That opens the door to an irrational fear of the Qur’an. Some of the people I’ve met think it is some kind of war manual and they haven’t read it. “I think that leads to what we’ve called in our book Qur’anophobia.” Rather than treating Jewish and Islamic scripture as competing texts, Sopher and Galadari place them in conversation. Each chapter considers one of the weekly Torah portions and asks what the Qur’an might add to its interpretation.

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World News / Leadership scheme / Expat voting

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s global Jewish leadership initiative has opened applications for its second cohort after more than 20 projects developed by its inaugural council reached proof-of-concept stage, writes Candice Krieger. Voice of the People, which brings together diverse Jewish voices to develop practical responses to challenges facing Jewish communities, is seeking 150 council members from around the world for its next 16-month programme, as the initiative’s first cohort approaches the end of its term. But for debut council member Dan Sacker, a director at global advisory firm Milltown Partners and former senior adviser to Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who joined a working group examining IsraelDiaspora relations, the programme’s success lies not only in the projects it produced, but in the on-going connections it created.

He told Jewish News: “What I found most valuable was the council itself: the opportunity to hear the different perspectives in Israel and across the Diaspora and the challenges people were facing. “They were often similar challenges, but people were coming at them from very different angles. It was a great way to build bridges of dialogue and understanding.” Voice of the People was first proposed by President Herzog in 2023 as a worldwide Jewish advisory council designed to strengthen dialogue between Israel and Diaspora communities and bring a wider range of Jewish voices into discussions about their shared future. Following consultations with Jewish communities around the world and a survey completed by more than 10,000 people, its first council brought together 150 members from six continents: 50 from Israel, 50 from the

United States and Canada and 50 from Jewish communities elsewhere. Council members included communal professionals, academics, students, rabbis, entrepreneurs and business and technology leaders, who worked in groups to identify some of the most pressing challenges facing Jewish communities and develop potential solutions. More than 20 of their initiatives have now reached proof-of-concept stage with support from Voice of the People and its partners. Among them are Hack the Hate, which aims to use technology to combat antisemitism, and One Five Seven, focused on ensuring Jews are represented fairly in artificial intelligence systems and across digital information platforms. Other projects include MTT, which seeks to address growing social fragmentation and polarisation and Tiny Tribe, designed to strengthen young Jewish identity.

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Herzog seeks next gen of leaders

Leadership search: Issac Herzog

30,000 SIGN UP TO FLY HOME TO VOTE IN ELECTION More than 30,000 Israelis living overseas have registered with a new initiative helping them return to Israel to vote in next month’s national election. Most Israelis living abroad cannot vote overseas and must be physically present in Israel

on election day to cast their ballot. The Institute for Policy Research estimated last year that around 630,000 Israelis are living in the diaspora. Unlike voters in many other countries, Israelis living abroad cannot generally

vote by post, proxy or at an embassy and must return to Israel to cast their ballot. Fly&Vote, an initiative launched by the US-based nonprofit AID Coalition, is helping Israelis abroad navigate the practical difficulties of

returning home to vote. Those who sign up are provided with information about eligibility and required documentation, help identifying available travel options and ongoing support ahead of their journey to Israel.

The initiative does not cover participants’ travel costs but has recently opened special flight options from New York and Lisbon, including reserved blocks of seats on flights to Israel. • portal.aid-coalition.orglogin

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mand scrutiny, argument and, where justified, condemnation. The letter itself acknowledges both that suffering and legitimate disagreement over how Israel has fought the war. But serious criticism requires serious language. When every terrible consequence of war is automatically described using the gravest crime in international law, debate becomes accusation rather than inquiry. This letter matters because it draws a line that should never have disappeared: between criticising Israel, however fiercely, and treating the most serious allegation imaginable as a settled truth. Resetting that distinction would improve the debate for everyone.

Alan Sanis, by email

THE FOREIGN POLICY POSITION OF FOOLS So Zarah Sultana MP says she wants a single state of Palestine. At least she is being honest. There is no two-state solution here. It means dismantling Israel and putting eight million Israeli Jews under a Palestinian government. But even if Jews were to lose an independent Jewish state, as she wishes, what would that Palestinian government actually look like? How could it govern responsibly when the current Palestinian Authority and Gaza still have so many serious internal problems to resolve? We saw what happened on 7 October 2023. Is that really the

model for the “independent Palestine” she wants? History also gives us a warning. We saw something similar in India in 1947, when the idea that “things will fix themselves once we declare that the local population can do as they please” was followed by horrific communal violence and hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. I wonder whether Zara Sultana would shed a tear if her reckless idea were actually put into practice and hundreds of thousands of people became its victims?

MUSEUM MUSINGS

GOLDSMITH NUPTIALS

It’s always sad when a historic Jewish building is forced to shut its doors, as is the case with Hackney and East London Synagogue. Especially since many of our mishpacha davened there before they scattered to the far reaches of London. But with this sadness comes an opportunity. Perhaps our machers and organisations will seize the day, buy the building and turn it into the Jewish museum — and perhaps Holocaust educational centre — the capital desperately needs. Don’t let it go the way of the East London Central Synagogue. Joe Millis, by email

The marriage of Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith, originally Goldschmidt, to Cameron O’Reilly, financier, has been announced. Jemima was previously married to the politician and former cricketer, Imran Khan. Jemima’s parents were financier Sir James Goldsmith and socialite Lady Annabel Birley. Jemima converted to Islam on her marriage in 1995 and her two sons are practising Muslims. Her brothers are Zac and Benjamin Goldsmith, who have both publicly expressed pride in their Jewish heritage.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Unlike other Jewish media, we do not charge for content. That won’t change. Because we are charity-owned and free, we rely on advertising to cover our costs. This vital lifeline, which has dropped in recent years, has fallen further due to coronavirus. Today we’re asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do. For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain. Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life. You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with. 100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity.

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Doreen Berger Jewish Genealogical Society of GB

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Two weeks on and the image remains raw. Ed Miliband standing at the despatch box in the House of Commons, announcing a sweeping package of measures against Israeli settlements to warm approval from many MPs. The sanctions were subsequently welcomed by Hamas too, who called them an “important step in the right direction”. Whatever one’s view of the measures themselves, this was another bleak marker of how far relations between Britain and Israel have deteriorated. That is why our interview this week with Yair Golan matters. The leader of Israel’s Democrats promises that a new government would seek to restore Israel’s international standing and repair its relationship with Britain. He argues that Israel can once again be “connected to the family of liberal and democratic nations around the world”. Golan may not be the principal challenger to Benjamin Netanyahu at next month’s election. Gadi Eisenkot remains the prime mover among opposition figures seeking to shape what comes next. But Golan gives voice to something larger than his own party: the moderate, democratic middle ground of Israeli politics that believes the country needs a different direction. That coalition is broad. Golan himself names Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman as potential partners. They disagree on plenty. But politics, especially in Israel, is the business of turning disagreement into workable government. For years, Netanyahu’s opponents have failed to find a durable formula capable of dislodging Israel’s dominant political figure. If they want a different Israel after this election, they will have to do more than agree that Netanyahu’s time should end. They must persuade Israelis that they have a coherent alternative, domestically and – crucially for Jewish communties across the diaspora – beyond its borders.

The significance of the letter signed by more than 5,000 public figures is not simply that it rejects the accusation of genocide against Israel. It is that it attempts to restore some seriousness to a debate in which the most inflammatory language has too often become the starting point rather than the conclusion. Words matter, particularly words carrying the legal and historical weight of “genocide”. Yet the term is now routinely deployed as though its application to Gaza were an established fact rather than a fiercely contested legal and factual claim. It is not. That does not mean Israel’s conduct should be immune from scrutiny. Quite the opposite. The deaths and suffering of Palestinian civilians de-

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HAS KHAN FULFILLED HIS EARLY PROMISES? ‘I know it’s a portmanteau of ‘Sheeran’ and ‘Macklemore’, but I just don’t think the term is helpful!’

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Opinion

A time to remember and a duty to protect ANGELA RAYNER, MP

COMMUNITIES SECRETARY

he high holiday period was a time to look both backwards and forwards. A chance to think about what has passed and what lies ahead. Those reflections may be harder than usual. As Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur approached, many within the Jewish community were no doubt recalling the painful memories associated with the Yom Kippur attack on Heaton Park Synagogue, an anniversary we have just marked. At the end of August, I joined the Heaton Park community to remember Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, and to stand with the families, friends and wider Jewish community who continue to live with the immeasurable pain of their loss. It was a deeply moving evening. As we remembered two men who were killed during an assault on their synagogue, I was struck not just by the devastation of the attack but

the strength of a community that refused to be broken by it.The service also reinforced something the Prime Minister and I heard a few days ago when we met Jewish community representatives in Downing Street. Many of you are living in a state of fear and anxiety that the rest of society does not always fully see, let alone understand. Yet the reminders are everywhere. In the security guards and high fences around schools, nurseries and synagogues – measures put in place simply to keep people safe. It saddens me that they are everyday life for so many Jewish people. No community should ever come to regard that as normal, just as no Jewish person should have to think twice about wearing a Star of David or a kippah. I have spoken before about why the horrific attacks of 7 October affected me so deeply. Seeing young people targeted at a music festival brought back memories of the Manchester Arena bombing and the pain felt across my home city and beyond when lives were lost in a place that should have been filled only with music and joy. Different events, different circumstances,

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but the same terrible reminder of what hatred and violence do to communities and lives. The Prime Minister has spoken about the need to do more to protect Jewish communities across the country. I agree. Listening matters, but so does making sure you feel safe. That’s why we’ve continued to invest in security and committed £251 million this summer to policing and community safety over the next three years. But I also recognise many readers will be reflecting on the government’s new economic measures relating to settlement activity. I understand there will be strong feelings about them.

What I’d say is this. The measures are aimed at settlement activity. They do not change my belief in Israel’s right to exist in peace and security. Nor do they change our support for a two-state solution nor our determination to stand with Jewish communities here in the UK. People will not agree with every decision every government takes. That’s democracy. But there should be no question about where I stand when it comes to tackling antisemitism, or about the valued place of Jewish people in our country. Nobody should face abuse, intimidation or suspicion because they are Jewish. And nobody should ever be held responsible for events taking place thousands of miles away simply because of their faith. So as communities gather after Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, ahead of Sukkot, my message is simple. Jewish life is an integral part of British life. The contribution of Jewish communities to our country is immeasurable. And while this season asks us to reflect on the past, it also asks us to look forward with hope. I wish everyone celebrating a happy, healthy and peaceful year ahead.

24 September 2026 Jewish News

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Opinion

We warned of consequences and now they are unfolding PHIL ROSENBERG PRESIDENT, BOARD OF DEPUTIES

f we’re honest, we all tend to feel a sense of self-satisfaction when proven right. But as a Jewish leader these days, I too often find myself really hoping I will be proven wrong. Two weeks after the government’s announcement of sanctions against West Bank settlements, I feel far more sad than smug. We warned the government that “protesters who cry ‘From the river to the sea’ will not be placated by any measures short of the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state. Since the announcement, far from damping down cohesion issues, Labour politicians at a national and local level are reaching towards ever more divisive and extreme rhetoric. There have been a range of actions. At the gentler end – we have Newham Labour councillors raising the Palestinian flag above their town hall, a move ruled out as a ‘divisive’ by

Newham’s previous Labour administration, who said that they would only ever raise the Palestinian and Israeli flags in tandem, in support of the two-state solution. Separately, the First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh, told the Trades Union Congress that the UK will ‘no longer stand by while innocent children are killed in Gaza’. Of course, nobody should stand by when children are being killed anywhere. But the important missing context is that this is a war started when Palestinian terrorists slaughtered innocent children in Israel on 7 October 2023. They abducted some 35 children to Gaza, some of which, like the Bibas children, they murdered with their bare hands. Surely those who care about innocent children should also be referencing this? At the more extreme end, a Labour MP, Tahir Ali, has even asked “Isn’t it about time that military action is taken against Israel?” We warned our community would likely be “impacted directly by heightened rhetoric about the conflict”. And so it has come to pass. Fireworks fired at Lauderdale Road Synagogue on Rosh Hashana; Jewish school-

boys assaulted on a bus in Mill Hill, reports of abuse shouted at a synagogue and a separate report of abuse of rabbi and his sons facing abuse and being spat at. And now, we learn, a terrorist plot to strike the Manchester Jewish community again on Yom Kippur, foiled some 24 hours before it was due to take place. With the sanctions announcement coming in the midst of Israel’s heated election cycle, we also warned of “perverse consequences which go against the UK’s stated objectives”. The UK’s official stance is increasingly predicated on a partisan view of Israeli politics. A new government in Israel, the reasoning goes, might end a series of smouldering conflicts, allowing the region to begin to heal. This would decrease anger in Western nations, helping community relations. It may be that this is true. But we predicted that the UK and international action during the election was likely to assist rather than weaken the Netanyahu Government. Again, so it has proven. The current Israeli Government decried foreign interference, portraying it as an imperialist and condescending attitude

by the UK. It has taken a series of retaliatory responses, weakening the UK’s local diplomatic options. It has used the episode to suggest that only the current Netanyahu government can withstand international meddling. The Israeli opposition was also bounced into voicing its disapproval of the UK stance. The polls have narrowed over the last week, favouring the Netanyahu camp. The sad reality is that, while we urged the UK Government to wait until the Israeli elections on 27 October, it has proven far more interested in 27 September: the start of the Labour Party Conference. The evidence so far is that Labour’s decision has been counterproductive. This new UK administration has choices to make: between politics and progress, and between posturing and peace. If it chooses politics and posturing, nobody will gain – certainly not Palestinians or Israelis on the ground. Community relations here will continue to be an open sore. But if it chooses progress and peace – the UK may once again be using its agency towards a better future for all. We must hope they make that choice.

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Opinion

Disagreement is no reason to disengage RAPHI BLOOM

COMMS DIRECTOR, THE FED

one of us in positions of Jewish leadership in Greater Manchester, particularly those of us who sit on the Management Board of the Jewish Representative Council (JRC), are surprised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s positions on Israel, the Palestinians, the war in Gaza and wider Middle East. The prime minister gave his first major interview as an MP to the Guardian on Gaza and followed this with an appearance on Gary Lineker’s podcast. He then took the seismic – and in my opinion totally wrong and dangerous – decision to place sanctions on Israeli settlement goods and services from the West Bank, alongside an arms embargo. Taking all this into account, many have demanded our community should cease to engage with our government. However, what does that actually mean? As Metro Mayor of Greater Manchester,

Andy Burnham was an enormous supporter of our Jewish communal charities, particularly those providing social care, supporting them financially and morally on numerous occasions. Those of us who worked closely with him saw he genuinely valued the way our organisations operated and the way we cared for our community, both publicly and privately. He also attended and spoke at the JRC’s communal vigil held several days after 7 October 2023 and the one we held the day after the Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack. I worked closely with him on Holocaust education projects across Greater Manchester. He has spoken publicly numerous times about the huge importance and impact he believes The Fed’s My Voice project has had on Holocaust education and remembrance. His political positions on Israel should not be particularly surprising. He is a left- wing Labour politician and has probably held these views for many years. In today’s political climate, where he must take domestic pressures into account, he is even more likely to express them publicly. As a Jewish community, we rightly argue

that Israel’s actions should not be conflated with British Jews. If we now adopt a position of disengagement from the government over sanctions, are we not doing exactly that? We also risk cutting off our nose to spite our face. Should our social care charities stop engaging with government if doing so jeopardises funding and ultimately affects the care provided to thousands of vulnerable Jews? Should CST stop working with the Home Office on security funding and intelligence? Should our communal organisations abandon the engagement that has helped secure the proscription of Palestine Action and the IRGC, legislation relating to the hate marches, the Protecting What Matters Counter-Extremism Strategy, the CPS fasttracking antisemitism cases, and the full implementation of Lord Mann’s NHS report, alongside commitments to implement Sir David Bell’s recommendations on schools? That same engagement has also helped secure almost £300 million in additional security funding and prevented several hate preachers from entering the UK. None of this means we should remain silent.

On the contrary, we must challenge the Prime Minister’s views strongly. We need to make him understand that the overwhelming majority of British Jews are connected to Israel through faith, family, history and culture, and that a large majority oppose his actions on Israel. We also need to explain, unequivocally, that by only paying lip service to the events of 7 October and failing to acknowledge Hamas’s agency in the war in Gaza, he presents an overly simplistic narrative. He has also taken a naïve and one-sided view on the West Bank, ignoring the Palestinian Authority’s long record of incitement. But is entirely possible for someone to care about the welfare of British Jews while simultaneously holding views on Israel that many of us oppose. Our challenge, as communal leaders, is to navigate that complexity without abandoning relationships that continue to benefit our community in practical and tangible ways. We must challenge where challenge is necessary. We must oppose narratives that we believe are unfair to Israel or dangerous to British Jewry. But we must also avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Five things we learned about Jewish life in 5786 DR JONATHAN BOYD

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JPR

ow another Jewish year has drawn to a close, it is tempting to ask whether 5786 was good or bad for British Jews. After all, it began with the deadly attack outside Heaton Park synagogue on Yom Kippur, continued through concerns about antisemitism at home, and ends with Israeli elections just around the corner. One year ago, many of us assumed that our central task this year would be to measure the consequences of 7 October, the Gaza war and rising antisemitism. In many respects, it was. Yet as we analysed new data and completed studies across several countries, a more complex picture emerged. Taken together, our research points towards a deeper understanding of how Jewish life is changing and how it is enduring. Jewish identity is stable and adaptable In the immediate aftermath of 7 October, there was widespread discussion – particularly in the United States – of the emergence of an ‘October 8 Jew’: a transformed Jewish population whose relationship with

Judaism, Israel and community had fundamentally shifted overnight. Yet the longitudinal analysis we’ll be publishing next month suggests a more nuanced reality. People’s attachment to Israel, perceptions of antisemitism and sense of vulnerability changed in some respects. But there was little evidence of a broad-based transformation in religiosity, synagogue engagement, Jewish learning or many other core dimensions of Jewish identity. We need to measure what antisemitism is doing to Jewish people Qualitative work we conducted in Ireland and the Netherlands revealed something difficult to capture using more traditional approaches. Many Jews described feeling uneasy, exposed, isolated or misunderstood, even without direct antisemitic incidents. That led us to develop and sharpen the concept of ‘ambient antisemitism’ that we first introduced in 2024, and, more broadly, towards a question that I suspect will become increasingly important in the years ahead: how confident do Jews feel about their place in society? Informal Jewish education might be just as important as Jewish schools

For decades, communal discourse has often assumed that schools sit at the heart of Jewish identity formation. They undoubtedly matter enormously. Yet our work examining long-term impact of Jewish experiences suggests a more complicated picture. Family upbringing remains the strongest predictor of adult Jewish identity. Among organised interventions, however, informal educational experiences, particularly via youth movements, seem to have at least as much long-term influence as schooling. The implication is not that schools matter less than we think, but that friendships, peer networks, camps, Israel experiences and immersive Jewish environments matter much more than many truly realise. Jews are more cautious engaging with wider society We found this across several studies. Some reported avoiding conversations about Israel with non-Jewish friends or colleagues. Others described spending more time within Jewish social networks and less time outside them. These responses are understandable. In many cases they provide support, solidarity and psychological safety. But the challenge facing Jewish communities today is not

simply one of safety, but how to remain open, engaged and confident while navigating an increasingly difficult environment. Jewish peoplehood remains remarkably resilient For all the pressures facing contemporary Jewish life, there is little evidence of communal collapse. On the contrary, much of our work suggests that Jewish peoplehood remains remarkably resilient. The events of recent years appear not to have undermined Jewish identity so much as reorganised it. Attachments may have shifted. Priorities may have changed. New concerns may have come to the fore. But the underlying sense of connection many feel towards other Jews and to the wider Jewish story seems to have proven far more durable than many might have expected. Research rarely provides final answers. More often, it helps us ask better questions and test whether our assumptions are correct. That, perhaps, is the most important lesson from this year’s work. The further we looked, the more we discovered that reality is often more nuanced, more surprising and ultimately more interesting than the stories we tell ourselves about it.

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24 September 2026 Jewish News

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TO SUPPORT THE LIFESAVING WORK OF UNITED HATZALAH OF ISRAEL

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Community / Scene & Be Seen

1 ROSH HASHANAH LEARNING

A group of excited young children at Menorah Synagogue had fun doing arts and crafts and practicing blowing a mini shofar as part of Rosh Hashanah preparations. The shul, also known as Cheshire Reform Congregation, is a vibrant Progressive Jewish community in Sharston, South Manchester. The more than 800 members are drawn from Greater Manchester and Cheshire, with some based in Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Shropshire.

2COMPETING COUSINS

And be seen!

Cousins and close friends Nick Jackson, 35 and Richard Debson, 47, raised more than £2.5k for Hatzola Northwest Trust, competing in a solo GYMRACE on 5 September at London’s Excel. Both fathers of two from Borehamwood, their gruelling challenge included burpee jumps, sled push, rowing, 1k sprinting and weights. Jackson told Jewish News: “After the Golders Green arson attack on the Hatzola ambulances, we both felt we needed to do something to support the charity that helps so many people and has supported some of our families when they really needed it.”

The latest news, pictures and social events from across the community Email us at community@jewishnews.co.uk

3KISHARON LANGDON GOLF

The charity’s 2026 golf day at Hartsbourne Country Club on Thursday 10 September was a tremendous success, raising more than £55,000. The annual fundraising event brought together supporters, sponsors and 26 teams of golfers for an 18-hole course day of camaraderie, competition and generosity. Funds raised will support life-changing services across supported living, education, employment and community programmes for people in the Jewish learning disability and autism community. Kisharon Langdon chief executive, Richard Franklin, said: “The generosity of everyone involved will make a real difference to the lives of the people we support.” The winners were Max Sachon, Mark Sachon, Joe Marsh and Michael Posner.

KKL LEGACY NEW YEAR TEA

Former British Army officer and Middle East defence analyst Andrew Fox was guest of honour as KKL, JNF UK’s legacy department welcomed ninety clients and community members to a Rosh Hashanah afternoon tea at Hendon United Synagogue on 8 September. Addressing guests, Fox said: “Reflecting on the fragility of modern Jewish security in the diaspora, Israel serves as the firewall between Jewish existence and annihilation. It does not wait for pity - it acts, endures, and fights back.... Israel may not need our sympathy, but British Jews need our solidarity.”

YEARS OF CAMBRIDGE 550REFORM COMMUNITY

More than one hundred members of Beth Shalom Reform Synagogue (BSRS) gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Reform Jewish community in Cambridge. Founded in 1976, with the formal congregation established in 1981, in its early years members met in one another’s homes to pray. As the community grew, services were held in a variety of rented venues across Cambridge before the congregation finally established a permanent home. The current synagogue, built by and for the community, opened in 2015. The celebrations featured singing from Cambridge’s Jewish choir, Kol Echad, and the synagogue’s cheder children. BSRS Chair, Professor Anna Sapir Abulafia said: We are a volunteer-run community without a rabbi. We have grown from a tiny group, meeting in people’s homes to a fully-fledged synagogue with a permanent shul and now a new Torah scroll, generously donated by one of our members and being written by our very own scribe.”

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Eye of the storm Photographer Ziv Koren was one of the first on the scene on 7 October. Now his images are going on show in London, writes Anthea Gerrie

hile other Israelis were waking in confusion on 7 October 2023, Ziv Koren already knew the sirens were not warning of missile strikes over Tel Aviv. His first concern was how quickly he could get his seven-yearold daughter, who was sleeping over, safely home to her mother. Then he ran home, called his contacts in the military and a few trusted colleagues: “Much as you want an exclusive, when you need to you travel in a pack for safety.” Then the 56-year-old grabbed his camera, helmet and flak jacket, jumped on his motorbike and headed south to document what he describes as “one of the biggest disasters in human history”. Koren, a multi-award-winning photojournalist, was first on the scene recording some of the atrocities of that day, bypassing police barricades at Ashkelon by going offroad, still with no understanding of the magnitude of what was going on. “How many people had been slaughtered or how many Hamas

terrorists were in Israel? I only tions from his 750,000 images, knew they had entered.” Koren is coming to London to He got his first clue on show some of his incredibly the approach to Sderot. “The moving pictures and tell the first scene was a road where stories behind them at an event everyone was dead. A bus organised by the World Zionist stop with dead people around Organisation (WZO)under the it, cars in which everyone was leadership of Matan Bar Noy. dead, motorcycles turned So many are unbearably upside down – I didn’t see sad – the little girl on a swing anyone alive.” is three-year-old Avigail Idan, While not the first confronwhose father was a friend and tation with mass murder colleague of Koren’s. for a man who has covered “He heard the sirens and “every conflict since the went out to photograph. When 1990s, including Ukraine”, he he saw Hamas parachuting in, confesses: “It was still one of he ran back to his kibbutz, but the most shocking sights I’ve Ziv Koren: ‘This is the modern Holocaust’ by the time he got home, his wife ever experienced.” had already been murdered. At the police station, he was hundreds of victims, survivors “As he ran to grab his daughter, trapped with colleagues under and their families. he got a bullet in the back and fire until soldiers arrived to join He says: “Photographing on a dropped dead. Full of his blood, the gunfight, enabling him to flee daily basis the battlefields in Gaza Avigail got herself from under his home to send his first pictures. and Lebanon, the hostages who body and ran to the neighbours. She By dawn the next day, Koren came back, the soldiers wounded on was taken hostage with the family was back, en route to the invaded October 7 undergoing rehabilitation. she ran to for help.” kibbutzim while Hamas terrorists Some of the families I’ve followed Avigail was released after 52 were still inside Israel. It was just for a year or two now, telling their days in captivity, and her siblings, the beginning of an unrelenting stories over a period of time.” hiding in a cupboard, escaped three years during which he has After filling two books and 80 capture by keeping themselves worked 18 hours a day following international exhibitions with selec- hidden for 14 hours.

“These are tales of the Holocaust. This is the modern Holocaust,” says Koren. But the man whose mission statement is “I’d rather be honest than impressive” is also ace at capturing joy – and there is real jubilation in his shot of Segev Kalfon leaping in the surf as he fulfils his wish to go to the beach and smell the sea after 758 days in captivity. Then there are Gali and Ziv Berman, twin brothers who were separated in Gaza during the 738 days they were held hostage after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, exuberantly celebrating their release together. Unlike many hardened war photographers, Koren does not see the camera as a barrier between himself and the emotions triggered by capturing immense grief in the aftermath of violence. “When I document these heroes I have to tell the truth, and one of the most important things is being able to transfer a glimpse of the emotional experience I witness while being with them. “Those emotions don’t bypass

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LIFE

me when they travel from the subject to the viewer.” He does not believe any event will surpass October 7 in terms of the intensity with which he experienced what transpired. “I’m sure it has changed me – I don’t think anyone in Israel is the same as they were on 6 October 2023.” He lost friends, has attended dozens of funerals, and regrets he was not always there to support his two grown-up daughters at the funerals of the friends they lost themselves at the Nova festival. So how does he cope mentally with three years of continuous work, during which he has not taken a break, only occasionally travelling for no more than 48 hours to accept an award or open an exhibition? “I have two items in my office – a pool table inside and a basketball hoop in the garden,” he explains. “So when I need to think or break loose I go and shoot pool or shoot hoops – and I take a lot of cigarette breaks. “But I never forget I’m telling a story for future generations with photographs that will be talked about in schools.” As for the books, Koren is longing for what he calls his black

book and his grey book to be followed in the future by a white book. What would have to happen to make that possible? “Hopefully we will live in peace with our neighbours, see prosperity again, understand that lives were not lost for no reason defending the State of Israel, and have a better life

when peace breaks out.” An impossible dream? “It sounds strange, but for some reason I’m still an optimist.” “Each of us remembers where we were when the devastating news reached us on Simchat Torah (2023),” says Matan Bar Noy, head of WZO in London. “I was called from synagogue to join my reserve unit under emergency mobilisa-

tion. My tallit was replaced by an olive-green uniform, and the melodies of the festival by the sound of a machine-gun. “Even then, we were thinking about the day after, and how we would tell the story of what was almost impossible to comprehend. “I thank Ziv Koren, whose camera has created a powerful visual testimony for an entire people, ensuring that we never forget. “My sincere thanks to the Embassy of Israel and Tzemach Productions for theirinitiative in producing this important event. “May peace and quiet return to our beloved homeland and may those who seek peace never have to know war again.” October 7, Through the Lens is showing in London on 13 October. To buy tickets scan the QR code. This event is organised by the World Zionist Organisation, under the leadership of Matan Bar Noy. Additional partners include the Embassy of Israel and South Hampstead Synagogue. Production by Tzemach Productions.

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JN LIFE

Author Lily Meyer talks to Charlotte Henry about love, faith and the complicated nature of romance in her captivating new novel

here is a lot of sex in Lily Meyer’s latest book, The End of Romance. A lot of sex. However, it could never be described flippantly as a “romp”. The literary novel follows the life of Sylvie Broder and delicately deals with a number of different and difficult subjects, from abuse, friendship and love to feminism and, ultimately, the meaning of romance itself. It is an enchanting, engaging read – the kind of book you get lost in without ever being allowed to get too comfortable. Meyer is a Washington, DC native. “Interesting times here, for sure,” she tells me, in her softly spoken manner. Unlike many in DC, she has never wanted to be a politician or a lobbyist: “I’ve wanted to be a writer my whole life. Starting really before I can remember. If I’m not actively writing, things go poorly for me.” That single-mindedness has certainly paid off. She has become a staff writer at The Atlantic alongside working as a translator and critic. The End of Romance is her second novel, following A Short War, published in 2024. Alongside evident natural talent, Meyer was raised by two journalists and “grew up in a house full of books”. Meyer also spent time studying in the UK, earning her MA at the University of East Anglia. During that time living in Norwich, she recalls: “I really was aware of how few Jews were around me.” Meyer reveals that “almost nothing in The End of Romance is autobiographical, but one thing that does come from my life is the intellectual relationship that Sylvie has with her grandfather, which I had both with my own grandfather and also with my father”. The granddaughter-grandfather relationship in the book is depicted with real tenderness. It made me miss my own grandfather. Without spoiling too much, after escaping an abusive marriage and returning to post-graduate study, Sylvie decides romance is dead. Private relationships are fine, and sex is definitely fine, but romance of the public sort is not. Meyer says she made sex a fundamental pillar of the book because “it’s a fundamental pillar of life. We communicate and learn so much through it that I find it a part of life that is unrealistic to leave out and also really interesting to put in. Also… literary fiction in the last 10 years or so, I think, has broadly been pretty sexless and this is especially true in the United States”. Judaism – Jewishness, really – flows through the heart of the book too. Sylvie has

to censor education institutions under the guise of tackling antisemitism. “The president is trying to censor, control and manipulate universities,” she says. “For example, claiming that Harvard is institutionally antisemitic. Never mind that it has many Jews in positions of power, many Jewish students, many Jewish professors, and has for generations. The White House is using antisemitism to try to manipulate a major research university –or perhaps to silence voices within it.” (Donald Trump is seeking $1bn in damages as part of an ongoing battle with Harvard. He has also revoked $2bn in research grants to the university as well as freezing its federal funding, accusing it of allowing antisemitic violence on campus and “feeding a lot of nonsense” to The New York Times.) “These accusations of antisemitism, of course, are all about freedom to criticise Israel or the Israeli government, which I do publicly” she says. “I want to be able to continue to do publicly.” Lily Meyer is a beautiful writer who has written a beautiful novel that skilfully examines some of the very fundamentals of being human. The End of Romance is soft and spiky, engaging and frustrating. Rather like its author.

• The End of Romance is published by Verve Books, priced £10

‘If I’m not actively writing, things go poorly for me,’ says author Lily Meyer

the kind of secular Jewish life many reading this piece will relate to. The character clearly cares deeply about that heritage, not least because of the link it provides to her beloved grandparents. At one point, she is offended at how ‘Christmassy’ her Jewish boyfriend’s family’s Christmas celebrations are, as if they are copping out in some way. Judaism is very obviously important to Lily, certainly in the cultural sense. She has brought her daughter up Jewish and attends shul on the High Holy Days and her father’s yahrzeit. These are touchstones that truly matter to her. However, she is seemingly less concerned than many others by the spike in antisemitism we’ve seen since October 7. “The current level of antisemitism, while I don’t want to minimise it, I think has been wildly overblown and exploited by politicians,” she says. “In the United States, I think

the threat of politicians, including the president, overblowing antisemitism and using it as an excuse for very illiberal behaviours, is so much more frightening than scattered incidents of antisemitism. “I do not take antisemitic violence lightly. Obviously, I don’t condone it. However, it is not a threat to all Jews all the time.” One might argue that it being a threat to any Jew at any time is problem enough and it should be taken seriously by the political class either side of the Atlantic. I am confident that Meyer agrees with that basic principle. Sadly, though, her comments feel like a repetition of the trope that antisemitism is being weaponised, making for an uncomfortable moment towards the end of an otherwise pleasant and interesting conversation. Meyer argues there have been attempts

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Business / Artificial Intelligence

candicekrieger@googlemail.com

With Candice Krieger

AI – HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE?

As top executives call for a slowdown and the King convenes industry leaders, Candice Krieger asks experts what comes next

nthropic co-founder and chief executive Dario Amodei this week called on the industry to slow the development of its most powerful AI systems, warning that advances were moving faster than the safeguards needed to control them. His intervention was backed by rival Sam Altman, chief executive of Open AI, who agreed that we “need to pace the frontier”. When two of the people leading the race to develop the world’s most advanced AI say it may be moving too fast, how worried should the therefore not whether we can rest of us be? stop it, but whether we can Israeli entrepreneur Shiran become better at building it, Mlamdovsky Somech works controlling it and defending at the intersection of generaourselves from it.” tive AI and social impact. She told Amodei stressed that “pacing” Jewish News the warnings were would not mean halting AI develop“grounded in real, alarming events”: ment, but allowing safeguards time “Autonomous agents have broken Shiran to catch up. He cited recent testing in out of sandboxed environments and Mlamdovsky which a group of OpenAI agents carried breached external infrastructure to Somech out cyberattacks beyond their assigned cheat on tests. task, breaching the systems of AI plat“Models are improving themform Hugging Face and attempting selves recursively at a pace that to interfere with the mechanism outstrips human comprehension. that assessed their performance. The gap between development He warned that more capable speed and control maturity agents behaving in similar has become a genuine threat.” ways could cause far greater The debate about the pace damage. of AI development is no longer Meta chief executive Mark confined to Silicon Valley. AI is Zuckerberg rejected the case for becoming embedded in almost every an industry-wide slowdown, arguing aspect of our lives, including educaJudah Taub that individual AI companies already tion, at work, in public services and the have both the responsibility and comsmart devices in our homes. mercial incentive to develop their From jobs and misinformation to cyberatmodels safely. “Trust and alignment are quickly tacks and systems potentially escaping human becoming the most important capabilities that control, concerns have become increasingly will differentiate agents and models,” he said. difficult to dismiss. Yet AI also promises breakThe warnings have rattled the financial marthroughs in medicine, science and productivity kets, triggering a sell-off in AI-linked stocks as that could transform millions of lives. investors questioned whether slower developWhere should the balance be struck – and at ment could curb spending on chips and data what point does risks outweigh reward? centres. Shares in companies including Nvidia, Last week, King Charles invited senior AMD and ASML fell, while Japan’s SoftBank figures from Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI suffered an even sharper decline. and Anthropic to Dumfries House in Scotland Eze Vidra is the co-founder and managing to discuss how the technology can be developed partner of Remagine Ventures, which has been responsibly and used for the benefit of society. investing in generative AI since 2019. He told Judah Taub, managing partner of Israeli Jewish News that keeping increasingly powerful venture capital firm Hetz Ventures – who advises systems aligned with human values remains foreign governments on AI policy –said the tech“one of the hardest unsolved problems in the nology presented a fundamental dilemma: “The field: more capable does not automatically paradox of AI is that it may be too important to mean more trustworthy”. He said: “Models have slow down and too powerful not to regulate. “For most of history, technology gave humans better tools. AI is different because we are beginning to build a tool that can itself invent better tools. That could unlock extraordinary advances in medicine, science and productivity, but it also means capability may compound faster than our institutions can adapt. “The defining challenge of the AI era is

❝

executive of Israeli AI companies Lightricks and LTX, said: “The idea that we will put the brakes on technological development is foolish, not because it is right or wrong, but because it will not happen. The risk is that the tech will become incredibly powerful and humans will use it towards malicious ends.” Farbman argued that even if American companies stopped developing AI, work would continue elsewhere, including in China, Russia and the Middle East. He also questioned how seriously calls for restraint should be taken while the same companies conalready demonstrated deception tinue launching new models and and blackmail in simulated pursuing enormous valuations safety tests, yet enormous and “trillion-dollar IPOs”: “If investment is pushing developexecutives are not giving up ment forward, and I don’t see that capitalisation of the techthe leading labs slowing down.” nology, then do not believe that Ornit Shinar, chief investment they are serious about curbing its officer at Ignite, London’s leading AI development.” and deeptech community, agreed that Ornit Shinar Instead, Farbman said, efforts despite the growing alarm, there was should focus on preventing the techneither the appetite nor the practical ability nology from being used to exploit weaknesses to halt AI’s advance. She said: “The AI in banking, hospitals, supply chains genie is out of the bottle. The upside and other critical infrastructure: “We is real: AI has already cracked cannot realistically press a button problems that stumped biology and slow it down. However, we for decades, and Anthropic’s can control how exposed we are own CEO argues it could when people misuse it.” compress a decade of medical That lack of international progress into a few years. Layer consensus is reflected in governon productivity gains on the scale ments’ differing approaches. The of electricity or the internet, and it US has so far resisted sweeping becomes obvious there is no desire, federal restrictions as it seeks to let alone ability, to turn the switch off.” Zeev Farbman maintain its lead in AI, while the EU has But the risks were also real, she said, introduced comprehensive legislation. while the forces working against regulation China tightly controls AI-generated content remained powerful. “Rivals suspect ‘regulate while accelerating its own development, and the now’ means ‘lock in our lead’; there is a geopoUK has pursued a lighter-touch model focused litical race no country can afford to lose; and on testing and research. actors whose sole purpose is harm won’t pause Mlamdovsky Somech warned of the geopofor anyone’s guardrails.” litical risks of slowing development. “A unilatShinar said effective regulation would eral Western slowdown hands technological and require cooperation between the world’s two normative leadership to authoritarian players leading AI powers. “The easy part of the soluwho face no comparable restraints,” she said. tion is the US and China agreeing a regula“AI systems are reshaping power dynamics and tory body, with the others joining after. You the world order. For the free world, maintaining don’t make peace treaties with your friends; technological superiority is the insurance policy nuclear non-proliferation only worked for democratic values.” because adversaries signed it. Khodorkovsky also called for closer coopera“The harder – and more crucial – part is tion between democratic nations. “No single heavy investment in cyber capabilities, both to nation can dominate every layer of the AI detect and contain a rogue AI before it runs and stack,” he said. “Success requires coordinato outrun the bad actors looking to misuse AI.” tion in research, investment, procurement But Zeev Farbman, co-founder and chief and standard-setting. That’s how we ensure technology ultimately benefits humanity and advances freedom.” For many, the immediate question is less whether AI development can be stopped than how confidently it can be used. The experts’ message is not to reject the technology or panic about every advance, but to remain alert to how it is being used, what information is shared with it – and who is accountable when it causes harm.

YOU DON’T MAKE PEACE TREATIES WITH YOUR FRIENDS; NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION ONLY WORKED BECAUSE ADVERSARIES SIGNED IT

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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 ELCHONON FELDMAN BUSHEY UNITED SYNAGOGUE

Under one sukkah I’m writing at a moment of uncertainty and concern, when the Jewish people feel, once again, as though we are being asked to choose sides. In Israel, another election season sharpens old arguments. Here in the UK, similar divides are harder to ignore. Conversations that ought to be held with concern are too often held with suspicion. Differences that might once have sat around the same Shabbat table now threaten to become separate tables altogether. And then comes Sukkot, almost stubbornly cheerful, asking us not to be fractured by insecurity, but to step outside our solid homes and sit together under something deliberately fragile. The sukkah is a perfect mirror of the world in which we live: exposed, temporary, vulnerable, and yet capable of holding holiness.

The Gemara teaches that, in principle, all of Israel could sit in one sukkah. Not because it would be comfortable, nor because no one would argue about the politics, the songs, the seating plan, or the schach. But because a sukkah is not built around the illusion that everyone inside it is the same. Its holiness lies in the fact that there is room beneath it for the whole people. The arba minim make the same point in our hands. The Midrash sees in them four kinds of Jews: those with Torah and good deeds, those with one but not the other, and those who seem to have neither. Yet the mitzvah cannot be fulfilled with three out of four. The aravah is not an optional extra, tolerated politely at the edge of the bundle. It is bound together with the others in the very act of rejoicing before Hashem. This is not a call to blandness. Unity does not mean pretending convictions do not matter, or that every argument is equally

wise, or that every wound can be solved with a communal photograph and a plate of kugel in a damp sukkah. Sukkot does not ask us to abandon judgement. It asks us to abandon the fantasy that the Jewish people can survive by amputating whichever limbs currently offend us. Our enemies have always understood this better than we do. They are rarely interested in the subtle distinctions by which we divide ourselves. To them, we are one people. Our unity is not a luxury for quieter times; it is the only tool strong enough to face the forces that wish us harm. Its absence is our kryptonite, the weakness capable of breaking us from within. That, to me, is why Sukkot comes after the Yamim Noraim. After judgement, repentance and forgiveness, we do not retreat into private righteousness. We build a sukkah, take the arba minim, and learn how to rejoice together. We cannot wait one more minute to get on with it.

We build a sukkah and rejoice together

This Sukkot, may we find the courage not merely to speak about unity, but to make room for it: under our sukkah, in our shuls, across our communities, and in the heart of our nation itself.

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Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH RABBI REBECCA BIRK THE SANCTUARY OF SUKKOT

The sanctuary of Sukkot I’m part of a Rosh Chodesh group of women who have been meeting every month for more than 25 years. I first joined them when I was pregnant, expecting my second child, 23 years ago. Over that time, we’ve watched and witnessed each other’s children growing up, celebrated milestones and simchas and supported each other through tougher times. What makes us unusual – other than that it’s been the same group of women for more than two decades, give or take the few who have joined or moved away – is that we come from very different parts of the Jewish world. We hold such difference, yet we love to be together and

mark each new month with learning and conversation. Our all-time favourite date of the year is when we meet for Sukkot, in the same sukkah, and every year we note the changes in our lives and what we bring there. This sukkah has become a little sanctuary for all of us – a mikdash me’at. And we lean right into the commandment to be joyful through this festival – z’man simchateinu. Gathering in this physical way is just an antidote to the spiritual high of Yom Kippur – an alternative reality. It is not always easy to be commanded to feel happy, but with this group we always manage to laugh in the succah no matter what is happening in our lives or in the world. The sukkah represents, in its very nature, a flimsy, impermanent structure, a symbol of sanctuary and safety, however ephemeral.

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under the Vulnerable Person Most of all it serves as a Relocation Scheme. Many of reminder for those of us living our members and close allies safely in houses that there is in the wider Finchley faith another kind of existence. community worked hard to We pray every evening, ensure this could happen. in the Hashiveinu prayer Now those families are after the Shema, for a sukkat friends of the synagogue and shalom – a sukkah of peace that might come into our sukkah might shield us from sickness, as guests. Indeed, their familiwar, famine and distress and arity with Judaism and our even wrongdoing. Yet we know a succah is Every generation should add to our traditions synagogue has helped many. It was this deeply Jewish unlikely to shield us from those things, let alone the elements. A Talmud as a possible metaphor for act to extend our understanding of true sukkah can and should let the God’s glory. The metaphors it offers Sukkot to those who truly needed are powerful. For me, the metaphor a home that, for me, is the true rain come in. So why is this temporary home of welcome now leads our celebra- meaning of the festival. It’s incumbent on every generainto which we invite friends and tion of Sukkot. In 2015 my community, Finchley tion to renew and add to our tradifamily – a place that we feel viscerally all the physicality of being outside Progressive Synagogue, created a tions. Sukkot invites us to welcome and the reminder of such imperma- sukkah of sanctuary, in which the both those from the past and those leader of Barnet Council was inspired present friends for whom it may be nence – so important to us as Jews? The sukkah, meaning a hut or and persuaded by the idea of sanc- a first experience. That can only help add joy. a booth, was also discussed in the tuary to settle Syrian refugees here

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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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