
When my synagogue put out its first call for Covid volunteers, incredibly now a full year ago, over 600 replied, and 75% of them were women. I for one was not remotely surprised.
It was a great milestone: the 20 millionth person got their Covid jab at the weekend. But it was overshadowed by further reporting of ethnic and minority groups refusing to get the jab.
‘I have started to appreciate cemeteries which, in Jewish communities are often called a house of peace.’
A plurality of thought is one of the many wonderful benefits of the UK’s democratic system, but in recent times, a feeling that goes beyond plurality has emerged; it is a feeling of division – on a political, economic and, most worryingly, social level.
‘The traditional Jewish birthday greeting is ‘’may you live until 120.’
A plurality of thought is one of the many wonderful benefits of the UK’s democratic system, but in recent times, a feeling that goes beyond plurality has emerged; it is a feeling of division – on a political, economic and, most worryingly, social level.
A plurality of thought is one of the many wonderful benefits of the UK’s democratic system, but in recent times, a feeling that goes beyond plurality has emerged; it is a feeling of division – on a political, economic and, most worryingly, social level.
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish members met with the the Faith Engagement Advisor Colin Bloom this week.
Every year, when my children were small (and slightly malleable), they were part of the Alyth synagogue choir, which had the honour of performing at the local Barnet Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration.
If ever a new year needed a positive kick start, it must be 2021.
Last month, in Birmingham, a Jewish woman noticed some antisemitic graffiti on a wall. Shocked and upset she called a local Muslim friend, made through Nisa–Nashim (the Jewish/Muslim women’s network).
To my mind, religious communities are a force for good, both nationally and locally including here in north London.
‘The need for acts of kindness is greater than ever and so we, the Mitzvah Day team along with thousands of volunteers across the country, needed to come up with something new.’
‘I thought with deepest gratitude about the remarkable man with no name.’
As Jewish women, we don’t need to be told about the pain associated with hate crime.
“I love going to synagogue for the festivals, more than anything, to feel a part of the community. There is something life-affirming for me about hundreds of people being in one place and sharing the rituals going back thousands of years”
“There’s not enough listening to women, they have a different perspective,” Ms Marks said
The UK Government must act as social media companies continue to fall short when tackling racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic and Anti-Hindu hate online.
Gary Lineker’s agent, Jon Holmes, compounded an already awkward situation this week when it was revealed that the top male BBC presenters were being paid substantially, and consistently more than women in identical jobs.
‘I was glowing, satisfied and replete having re-discovered the joy of re-connecting with friends’
‘I’m sure I’m not the only one worrying about having to face the world again.’
Last week, with the shops newly opened, and looking for an outing, I hit Oxford Street with my daughter.
It was no surprise to learn that three quarters of the 240 people signing up to help at my synagogue with the COVID-19 pandemic were women.
‘I see interfaith harmony as the obvious and positive way forward for our faith communities’
‘Small acts of kindness are about more than our neighbours – they are about ourselves too.’
The recent ITV documentary ‘Return to Belsen’ was a fitting commemoration for the thousands of Jews, and others, who died in the camp in the most atrocious conditions, both before and tragically even after liberation
Who ever heard of a Jewish communal meeting starting at 9.30pm, and ending 45 minutes later with a full list of agreed action points by each group member?
Aged six, my daughter Sally went going through a rebellious phase and refused to brush her hair. I’m reminded of this every time I see a family picture, taken 17 years ago, of our clan dressed to visit a Korean care home in downtown Los Angeles. It was the start of our long Mitzvah Day journey.
Black and white, grainy photos of families, children, young people laughing, musicians holding their violins; we’ve seen these 1930s photos before.
‘To see my dad enjoying the company of his grandchildren is incredibly special.’
“Jews,” said, Judge Jim Lammey of the Shelby County Criminal Court, Tennessee, this week, should “get the f**k over the Holocaust”. After over 70 years, is it time to let it go?
‘I try to stand up to oppression and prejudice every single day.’
‘Passover promises freedom, a new start and fresh opportunities.’
Anti-Muslim comments on a Jewish Facebook group horrify community activist Laura Marks.
‘The best letters are the ones that are sent, quite simply, with love.’
There’s always one moment on Mitzvah Day that brings everything home to you.
‘One of the highlights of my year as a child was Guy Fawkes day.’
Laura Marks reflects on the passing of a role model, a former JFS head and Board president.
‘Adapting expectations and allowing new paths to open is sometimes the best way forwards.’
‘Ups and downs and successes and failures – they’re what makes life so very special.’
‘Even though life can be very uncertain, the seasons come and go with reassuring regularity.’
What do Parliamentarians including Ruth Smeeth, Luciana Berger and Baroness Ros Altman have in common with business pioneers like Facebook vice president Nicola Mendelsohn and student leaders such as incoming UJS president Hannah Rose?
Lack of contact between the two communities fosters negative misconceptions.
I heard audible sighs of relief this week with the publication of the trustee gender figures, compiled by Ben Crowne. With 32 per cent of our charities’ board members now women, and the national average at around 36 per cent, the community had largely caught up.
I’ve discovered the joys of marching. Cutting up cardboard and finding a broomstick for a banner, packing a backpack with snacks and a phone charger and Tubing into town on a Sunday to march.
The rhetoric from some of the critics of the planned Shia centre is Islamophobic, plain and simple, says Laura Marks.
‘The whole world is a narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be afraid’.
‘Say not in grief ‘she is no more’ but in thankfulness that she was’.
Although Mitzvah Day is a charity that operates all year round, it’s this time of year when things start getting very busy… and exciting.
Few people outside our community can believe that Jewish women struggle for equality.
‘The events of this weekend have made me think to celebrate every day, as well as life itself.’
‘It is my place, and the place of every person, not to forget and to ensure that we learn from the past.’
Thirty bright, twenty somethings, driving change, challenging the norms, and speaking up. Added to this, another thirty who ‘just missed out’ and about 110 more nominated on top, and the Jewish News’ Thirty Under Thirty has given us optimism for the future of our community.
‘This is my link with grandma and all that her generation did for us.’
‘Sometimes just living our lives to the full is the best way to move forwards.’
Last weekend, as I co-chaired Britain’s first ever Jewish/Muslim conference with my ‘Muslim sister’ Julie Siddiqi, I saw the efforts of so many of us starting to come to fruition.
Negative press stories and social media memes fuel mistrust in both the Jewish and Muslim communities at best, and prejudice and dislike at worst.
As we head into the New Year, you won’t be reading many articles this week looking back at 2016 with anything but shock, sadness and a little rage.
It’s hard to watch the news without seeing something that outrages our Jewish values, whether it’s Donald Trump boasting about sexual assault, people trying to stop child refugees seeking sanctuary here or the recent rise we’ve seen in racism and anti-Semitism.
Last week’s Jewish News reported on a poll from a Channel 4 programme called ‘What British Muslims Really Think,’ which can only be described as dispiriting and very worrying.
If you were on the streets of Britain on Sunday 16 November you may well have seen people in green t-shirts with balloons and flags bustling around together, covered in mud, flour, paint or carrying guitars.
By collectively working to make the world a better place and by rooting it in religious doctrine, we bring our values to the wider world.
At a leadership level in particular, women are few and far between. I am one of only five women who have ever sat at the top table of the Board of Deputies.