Issue 36 Autumn 2018 Celebrating 100 Years of Servicejewishmanchester.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/... · Hayley Leigh (Community Secretary), Deborah Britstone (Youth Secretary),

2019 will be the Centenary Year of the Jewish Representative Council and we will beholding a range of events to celebrate our 100 years of serving the Manchester JewishCommunity. Some will be enhancements to our regular annual events, whilst others willbe special for the Centenary and we look forward to you engaging with us and enjoyingthem.

REPD sb’’

Celebrating 100 Years of Service

Issue 36 Autumn 2018 Rosh Hashanah 5779

Happy New YearFrom the Jewish Representative Council

Sharon Bannister, JRC President (left) withnew BoD President, Marie van der Zyl

of Deputies President, Marie van derZyl's address to the JewishRepresentative Council's Junemeeting held at the Nicky AllianceCentre.

The importance of Jewishcommunities outside London, and inManchester in particular, was evident bythe fact that Marie was spending the firstdays of her presidency in our city. Shepaid tribute to Manchester telling theaudience that she applauded the joined-up thinking the JRC and other communitybodies employ in the pursuance ofeducation, social care and welfarepolicies.

Under her regime, she hopes tounderline a non-London centric strategyby convening regional meetings of theBOD and to establish funded regional

2 REP

JRC Annual General Meeting

Sharon described her experiences overthe past 12 months, highlights of whichincluded attending a Royal Garden Partyand being awarded the British EmpireMedal.

Next year is the Centenary of theJewish Representative Council and Sharondescribed some of the events that arebeing planned in celebration of the JRC’s100 years of service to the ManchesterJewish Community.

Jacky Buchsbaum, Treasurer,presented the Annual Accounts whichwere approved and adopted by Council.

Jonny Wineberg, Chair of Executive,

The Jewish Representative Councilof Greater Manchester and Regionheld its 99th Annual General Meetingin May at the Nicky Alliance Centrewhere President, Sharon Bannister,unveiled the JRC’s new corporateidentity, designed by Ed Horwich (seearticle on opposite page).

JRC Officers, l-r: Jeremy Michelson, (Vice-Chair - Education), Jay Charara(Vice-Chair - Public Relations), Susan Isaacs (Youth and CommunityOfficer),Sharon Bannister (President), Jacky Buchsbaum (Chair ofExecutive) & Clive Moss-Barclay (Publicity Officer)

Executive members, l-r: Filis Rosenberg (Publicity Secretary),Hayley Leigh (Community Secretary), Deborah Britstone (YouthSecretary), David Lewis (Community Secretary) & Linda Jacobs(Fundraising Secretary).

presented the Annual Report for 2017. Inhis report he described the wide andvarying range of activities undertaken bythe JRC on behalf of the JewishCommunity. Jonny expressed his personalthanks to JRC Administrator, LaurieBurnley-Myers.

Guest speaker at the AGM was SallyHalon, Manchester UJIA UK ProgrammesDirector, who spoke about the UJIA’sFlagship Leadership Programme whichhas been running in Manchester since2009.

All nominated Officers and Executiveswere elected unopposed. SharonBannister, BEM, will continue for afurther year as President. Jonny Wineberghas stepped down as Chair of Executiveand his place has been taken by JackyBuchsbaum. Russell Conn was elected asthe new Treasurer. Other positionsremain unchanged with JeremyMichelson, Vice Chair (Education), Jay

Charara, Vice Chair (Public Relations),Michael Rubinstein, Secretary, CliveMoss-Barclay, Publicity Officer and SusanIsaacs, Youth and Community Officer.

Jacky Buschsbaum, thanked hispredecessor, Jonny Wineberg, who hasbeen involved with the JRC for over 25years, being Vice-President on twooccasions and Chair of Executive for thelast two years. He described how Jonnyhas initiated and implemented, withcolleagues, many developments over thattime. Jacky outlined his plans for hisperiod in office (See full report onopposite page).

Lopian Gross Barnett was re-appointedas Honorary Accountants, and AndrewWineberg of Kuits, as Honorary Solicitor.

The meeting finished with a vote ofthanks to the President. Delegates weretreated to a reception after the meeting.

()

Visit JRC Website for complete list ofOff icers and Executive Members

BoD President Pledges More Supportadvocacy hubs and regular meetings withRepresentative Council presidentsthroughout the UK.

Among Marie's other plans is therekindling of interest in the BOD amongthe 18 to 40 age group. The BOD isplanning an annual youth plenary as wellas additional support to the Union ofJewish students, especially in the light ofthe challenges that Jewish students face inthe form of anti-semitism on universitycampuses.

After questions from a large audience,Marie was thanked for a most interestingand informative insight into her futureplans for the BOD. She later met overlunch with the Officers of a number ofNorthern Representative Councils.(Read full report on the JRC website atwww.jewishmanchester.org)

The challenges facing Anglo Jewryand the importance of serving theneeds of Jews not only in London, butalso throughout the country, were themain subjects of newly elected Board

EDITORIAL TEAM

Clive Moss-Barclay

Filis Rosenberg & Roy Bass

Full Page £400; Half Page £230Quarter Page £130; Eighth Page £70

Jewish Representative Council

of Greater Manchester & Region

Office Tel: 0161 720 8721

Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING RATES

RepPresents

Jacky Buchsbaum took over as JRC Chair of Executive from Jonny Wineberg at this year’s AGM. Jacky thanked hispredecessor for all the work that he has done for the Council, not just in the last two years as Chair, but in the previous threedecadesduringwhich hehasserved this Councilwithenthusiasmandcommitment.

In his address to the Council, Jackystressed the need for more volunteers tohelp with the work that the Council does,the majority of which is carried outbeyond our community. In manyinstances the effects are unseen andimpossible to quantify. He explained howthe vast majority of people in this countryhave little or no contact with Jewishpeople, let alone with the Jewishcommunity as a whole. Their basicknowledge of Judaism is founded uponthe religious education that they receivein school, hence the importance of havingJewish members on their StandingAdvisory Councils for Religious Education(SACRE)

Similarly, the relationship between theJewish communities and Muslimcommunities, where there is interactionin the form of interfaith work, is farsuperior to those which do not have thesame. We as a community are but a smallfraction of a percent of the nationalpopulation, but by developingrelationships based on trust and

Approaching itsCentenary Year in 2019, theJewish RepresentativeCouncil launches its new logoand image.

Bringing together ideas oftradition, modernity,community, harmony andworking together, the JRC's newlogo is set to embody the specialqualities of all of Manchester’sJewry, along with the smallercommunities in the region.

Said JRC President, Sharon

understanding, which is what the officersof this Council have done for many years,we are able to benefit our community inthe long run.

Jacky stressed the importance ofcontinuing to work closely with the Boardof Deputies and the Jewish LeadershipCouncil as has been the case over the last

Jacky is the new Chair for the JRC Executive

12 months where we have worked togetherwith Marc Levy of the JLC locally andhave run a number of different eventstogether with the Board.

Jacky described how, over the nextdecade, Manchester will become the firstlarge Jewish community to switch fromhaving a mainstream majority to aCharedi majority. This will present aunique set of challenges which will be thefocus of his term in office. There will be aneed for a strategic review within thewider Jewish Manchester community toensure that resources are allocated in thebest manner. We will also need toencourage the leaders of the Charedicommunity to take on greaterresponsibilities in relation to their newstatus as the largest sector of thecommunity.

Finally, 2019 will be the Centenary Yearof our Representative Council and we willbe holding a number of events tocelebrate our 100 years of serving theManchester Jewish Community. We lookforward to you engaging with us.

Bannister, “Our new identity and logoincorporates some familiar elements of thebranding associated with our proudhistory while also presenting the JRC as amodern, pro-active organisation that isresponsive to the many challenges facingthe Jewish community in the 21stCentury”.

For the new identity, the JRC turned toEd Horwich who has a lifelong career inphotography and art & design, and isDirector of the Jewish Small CommunitiesNetwork. His experience in designing forthe Jewish community and his close tieswith Jewish organisations enabled him to

3

(L-r) Jacky Buchsbaum, with retiring chair,Jonny Wineberg

bring the insights and inspiration to thetask that the JRC needed. Ed developedthe design working closely with theCouncil and its Publicity Working Groupchaired by Clive Moss-Barclay.Commenting on his design, Edexplained,”The JRC works with manycommunities both within Manchester andoutside in the region. Not only that, itworks with hundreds of volunteers andpaid staff in numerous communityorganisations. The rings of dots representboth those people and the Councilstructure which binds them together withthe strength of Jewish tradition in the bold

symbol of the Magen David.”The new design has been

designed to be adaptable todifferent needs. Already the main

logo has been launched andfollowed quickly by adaptation to

the JRC’s JNET discussion groupon Facebook. The latest

adaptations support the JRC’sCentenary events, shown on the

front cover, and the masthead ofthis Rosh Hashanah edition of

‘RepPresents’.

Fresh New Image for the JRC

honoured and uniform regulations permitthe wearing of a kippah. There are severalJewish officers who are either in training orwithin the recruitment process, but theGMP would welcome many more. Furtherinformation is available on their website atwww.gmp.police.uk.

There used to be a selection ofcareers that my late mother and othersof her generation used to summarisewith the phrase “ Not a job for a Jewishboy “, writes Steven Mintz, supportvolunteer for Greater ManchesterPolice (GMP) Positive Action Team.

Perhaps I should have written ‘ boy orgirl’ but political correctness was unheardof in those days. However, working as asupport volunteer for GMP has convincedme otherwise. A career in the police is asecure, well paid and interesting job that isbecoming increasingly attractive to young

Police Seeking Jewish Recruits

Law, Order & CrownProsecution Service

West Hate Crime coordinator, for his viewof the function of the panel.

“The Local Scrutiny InvolvementPanels were set up in 2015 and enablepanels of the public to scrutinise anumber of finalised hate crime cases.

It also aims to increase trust andconfidence in communities of interest byraising awareness and increasingunderstanding in the decision-makingprocesses of the CPS.

The CPS wants to be open andtransparent on the way it considers casesand the panels enable communities tobring their concerns and allows feedbackto communities of the CPS performanceand policies. The panels are alsoconsulted on national policies, businessplans and strategies as and when required.The panels also assist the CPS indeveloping stronger community links inorder to aid the issues faced by thecommunities the CPS serves.”

Should any of our readers have a queryor need any clarification with regard tothe work of the CPS, I can facilitate thatfor you. My email: [email protected]

4 REP

men and women from all sectors of ourcommunity. GMP is not only a job formembers of our community, but it is alsoour responsibility to support the work ofthis vital body in whatever way we can.

Interestingly, there are ancientprecedents for choosing a career in thePolice. Joshua, the successor to Moshe,organised the camp of Israel with ‘officers’whose responsibility it was to martial andorganise the people (the Hebrew word forofficer is shotrim, reflecting the Hebrewword for policeman). Also, the prophetJeremiah urged those in exile to “Seek thepeace and prosperity of the city in whichyou dwell”. We need look no further forevidence that policing is an ancient andhonourable career.

Currently there is only a 6%representation of BAME ( Black, Muslimand other multi ethnic groups) in the GMPfrom a general population of over 17%.GMP is a nationally recognised successfulemployer, which has won awards for itsattitude to diversity, and its Positive ActionTeam is actively seeking to redress thisdiversity imbalance.

Jewish officers and employees arerespected and totally accommodated froma cultural and religious perspective – theSabbath and Religious Holidays are

Our reporter, Filis Rosenberg, whorecently became a member of TheCrown Prosecution Service's NorthWest Racist and Religious LocalScrutiny Involvement panel, providesan overview of the issues discussed ather first meeting.

The all-day meeting held an in-depthdiscussion on each of the cases offeredand we were asked to express anycomments and queries we had on theprocedures followed in these cases. Thecases (anonymous) are chosen from anextensive list by one of the lay attendeesweeks prior to the meeting in order thatwe have a good cross section of type ofcrime, location, and result.

We took the opportunity to discussand question certain points and, whereappropriate, notes were made to followthrough these queries in order that wehave the answers for our next meeting. Iperceived the session as not only anopportunity to convey any concerns heldbut also to learn and understand moreabout how the CPS operates.

I asked our chair, Martin Hill, North

Earlier this year, Police ledIndependent Advisory Groups (IAG)from Salford, Oldham, Bolton, Bury,and North, South and CentralManchester met for a Force - widemeeting, initiated by C I AndreaQuinton, at Sedgley Park PoliceCollege reports Filis Rosenberg,JRC's representative on the NorthManchester IAG.

Shock Tactics

As the anniversary of the Arenabombing was imminent, we wereinformed by CI Cherie Dunn of thedifferent public events which had beenplanned and which would require a verystrong police presence in the city. Wewere given a very detailed insight intothe training and use of the taser. Thiscan often be a controversial subject andthe educational session delivered bySergeant Mark Quin was extremelyinformative - as was the demonstrationof its use. One of the many importantpoints made was that the taser causesrigid muscles in the area receiving thehit. There is usually almost immediaterecovery. When the police use any otherweapon or physical restraint, there canbe resultant injuries which may thenneed medical attention. The taserfunctions for a maximum of five secondsbefore needing to be re activated, givingthe officer the choice to re-activate ifnecessary.

We heard from CI Tony Alogba of the'Positive Action' team, detailing theirdesire to increase diversity within thePolice Force and how impactful thiswould be both for the police and thecommunities. This well-attended eventalso gave the opportunity to all presentto interact with each other and learn howthe various IAGs functioned.

Steven Mintz (front centre) with members ofThe GMP Positive Action Team

Sergeant Mark Quin demonstrates the useof a taser toFilisRosenberg

From the President’s Desk

Throwing a wet tea towel, or a cupof cold water, on a chip fan fire in yourkitchen seems like a natural response.WRONG! The correct reaction is toturn off the stove and leave thedwelling immediately.

This was just one of the many valuableinsights into fire safety that was broughthome to those attending the first JewishCommunity Safety Day at Broughton FireStation, Salford on Sunday 27th May 2018,reports Jay Charara, JRC Vice Chair, whowith Karl Gibbons, Whitefield WatchManager for the Fire Service, co-ordinatedthe day's activities.

The warm, sunny weather contributedto a high attendance by local Jewishresidents who wished to find out moreabout the work of the Service – and theBroughton Fire Station crew did not

disappoint. Their professionalism wasdemonstrated in the way they reacted to asimulated chip pan fire in real time,explaining its causes and consequences,and giving tips on best practice. Theaudience also witnessed a lively andengaging CPR (Cardio PulmonaryResuscitation) demonstration thatenthralled children in particular .

However, the simulation that drewmost crowds – and applause – was a rescuefrom an actual car at the scene of a RoadTraffic Collision ( RTC) with involvementfrom the Community's own popularHatzola Ambulance Service. The gasps ofamazement were audible as the vehiclewas dismantled in order to free the injuredfrom the wreck.

Commented Dawn Docx, InterimChief, Greater Manchester Fire and

Last year did not begin well withthe horrendous and murderous attackon young people enjoying themselvesat the Ariana Grande concert at theManchester Arena. The Manchestercommunity united together to standup against this cruel, despicable crimeand I am pleased that the Jewishcommunity were fully involved insupporting those affected.

The following day, I was honoured toattend a Garden Party at BuckinghamPalace and the hairs stood up on the backof my neck as the 3,000 people there, aswell as the Royal party, stood in silence topay their respects for the dead andwounded of Manchester.

I also had the opportunity to attend ameeting in Downing Street and spokebriefly to Theresa May. On otheroccasions I had a long conversation withDavid Cameron in Manchester;introduced Prince Charles to members ofother Faiths at the Town Hall; was invitedto meet Benyamin Netanyahu; presentedwith my British Empire Medal; andrejected an invitation to meet with JeremyCorbyn!

JRC colleagues and I have continuedto represent the local Jewish Communityat literally hundreds of meetings andevents. These have included PoliceCommittees, Health, Education,Interfaith, Communal groups andactivities, Transport, Board of Deputies,The Jewish Leadership Council – in factwherever we are needed. The JRC is therecognised voice for the mainstream

5

Jewish community in our region. We dothat with pride and I would like to thankeach and every one of my colleagues whoare committed to their roles.

We have been working hard to ensurethat the JRC is fit for purpose, efficientand relevant to the community as we endour first hundred years. As we prepare tocelebrate our Centenary, we decided toupdate our image. We are doing that in 2ways – firstly we are in the process ofdeveloping a new website which we hopeto launch in the very near future.Secondly, we have commissioned a newlogo design and we are very grateful to EdHorwich for helping us with this process.

Unfortunately, the past year has seen

the deaths of several prominent membersof our community including NevilleBerens, Julian Niman, Joyce Marcus,Norman Feingold, Chaim Ferster, JeffreyRosenfield and Corinne Stoops. All ofthese people have in their own way left alegacy on our community. The loss ofRabbi Tony Walker has left a huge gap; hiswork was so valued by so many people.We wish all the families a long life andfree from future sorrows for many years.

Turning from the sad to the happy, Ishould like to wish mazeltov to DannySavage on being awarded a British EmpireMedal for all his work for Brookvale, aswell as Jacksons Row Synagogue.

The Representative Council has seensome positive changes and developmentssince I became President and this hasbeen helped and steered by our Chair ofExecutive, Jonny Wineberg. Jonny hasdecided to stand down after 2 years asChair and I should like to place on recordmy thanks to him for everything he hasdone and for his vision many years ago asto how the Representative Council shoulddevelop. His successor is our Treasurer,Jacky Buchsbaum, who I look forward toworking with as our new Chair.

What a year this has been. It hasincluded events that I never expected toexperience in my life and I will be forevergrateful for the opportunity this post hasgiven me. The Manchester JewishCommunity is a fantastic community inwhich to live; and to be President of theJRC is just the icing on the top of thecake!!

JRC President, Sharon Bannister BEM

Rescue, “I have been heartened by thepositive response I have seen today and weas a Service are always looking for ways toengage more with the Jewish Communityin the future and especially in the areas ofHuman Resources and Recruitment”.

A Flare for Fire Safety

A Fellowship Study Trip to Hungary

Sadly, the Cork community continued toreduce in numbers making it impossible for itto function as a fully fledged JewishCommunity. This resulted in even moreleaving to live in the UK and even furtherafield.

The Manchester - Cork ConnectionThe total contents of the synagogue wereshared between the Dublin Jewish Museumand the Cork Public Museum. Only a handfulof the original community still resides in Cork.There were over 400 members at its height,many of whomwere professionals or insuccessful businesses. Gerald Goldberg, alawyer and politician, became Lord Mayor ofCork in 1977. I visited Cork earlier this year andhad the opportunity to see the exhibition,which was designed by 'HeritageWorks'. I wasimpressed with the very high level ofprofessionalism and the generous spaceallocated to the exhibits. As I have longresided in Manchester, it was an emotionalexperience, reliving the story of thecommunity of which I was once a part, and ithelped that I could share my memories withmy childhood friend Patsy Nyhan (née Furey)who accompanied me on this visit. We foundthe Acting Curator, Daniel Breen, extremelyknowledgeable and helpful and is looking tobuild on the information he already has of thecommunity should anyone wish to contact him(021-4270679) If anyone from Manchester - orelsewhere - find themselves in Cork, theexhibition is well worth a visit.

6

“Born and educated in Cork, I arrived in Manchester in 1966, preceded by many Irish members of the Jewish communitybeforeme, and followed byeven more.” reportsFilis Rosenberg, JRC ExecutiveMember.

In the last editionof Presents, wereported on howEmma Pearlman,JRC ExecutiveMember, had beenaccepted onto theRené CassinFellowshipProgramme. A studytrip to Hungaryforms part of theProgramme and

Rep

here Emma describes her impressionsof the country.

Think of Hungary and most people myage think that it’s a place for stag and henparties because not being in the Euro, it’srelatively cheap. Or people think of theChristmas markets and goulash. But thereis far more to the country than peoplerealise.

That was the point of our study trip, tosee beneath the surface of what is now acountry with a highly complex, andcontroversial situation. On the surface theaverage tourist just sees a place for a cheapbeer; they don’t see how Hungary haschanged in the last few years sincebecoming a democracy in 1989, and morerecently since Viktor Orban came intogovernment.

Cork's only synagogue closed in February2016, and the Cork City Council made asignificant decision in the same year when itdecided to honour the memory of the CorkJewish Community with a perpetual exhibitionin the city's Public Museum. Many of theitems from the original synagogue are on view.

Filis Rosenberg with Acting Curator, DanielBreen at Cork Public Museum.

Jewish exhibition at Cork Public Museum

We visited various places and spoke tolots of activists covering the wholespectrum of NGOs who explained thecurrent political situation. We also visitedthe Israeli Cultural Institute, a JewishCommunity Centre and met withrepresentatives of the Haver Foundationwho work to combat anti-Semitism inHungary. They ran a sample session withus on how they work with school children.

Meetings were arranged with otherorganisations that help refugees andmigrants who have been allowed to settlein Hungary. We saw videos of one suchprogramme that helped child refugeeslearn about Hungary and the languageand created a welcoming environment forthem. Meanwhile the Roma populationface terrible poverty and discrimination.

We went with a charity to visit a Romavillage and talk to local representatives ofthe community. While their situationseemed dire, the children still had hope.One girl dreamed of being able to finishschool and train as a beautician - I reallyhope that her dream comes true. As partof our tour we met some really inspiringpeople who, despite the challenges theyface, are doing their level best to makethings better, both for the refugees whomake it into Hungary and the Romacommunity. And this means there is hope.Emma Pearlman with Rene Cassin Fellows

René Cassin - TheJewish Voice of Human

RightsDirector, Mia Hassenson-Gross,

describes how René Cassin, a small charitythat relies on the support of individualsand organisations for its funds, works topromote and protect universal humanrights drawing on Jewish experience andvalues.

You can read Mia’s full article on JRC’swebsite at www.jewishmanchester.org

René Cassin is proud of theparticular historical role played by itsnamesake to the development ofcontemporary human rights values in theaftermath of the Second World War.

7

communities and encouraging local Jewsto get involved as volunteers. We operatein a flexible manner, and volunteers havethe ability to make a real difference fromwithin our organisation.

At CAA, we take a zero-toleranceapproach to antisemitism which requiresa multifaceted response in order toprovide a comprehensive counter to allforms of antisemitism. We make use ofthe media, criminal justice system,regulatory codes of conduct andeducation in our fight againstantisemitism.

We are also dedicated to assistingJewish students on campus to deal withany issues of antisemitism they face, bothpolitically and in cases of isolatedincidents such as graffiti and slurs.

Since opening our Manchester office,my first priority has been to listen andconsult. I am always keen to know whatpeople have to say on the key issues facingour community. We recently launched apilot scheme here in Manchesterproviding training sessions to volunteersin order to create a team of confident

speakers who are able to build bridgesinto communities with negativeperceptions of Jews. We are now lookingto expand this scheme to other Jewishcommunities around the country.

You can find out more about CAA at:www.antisemitism.uk/act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism(CAA) is a volunteer-led apoliticalcharity dedicated to exposing andcountering antisemitism througheducation and law enforcement.Binyomin Gilbert, ManchesterProgramme Manager of CAA, talksabout his work to Filis Rosenberg, JRCExecutive Member, who represents theJRC at CAA meetings.

Founded in 2014 as a grassrootsresponse to surging antisemitic crime,CAA has taken action that has achievedsuccessful outcomes from the start. Thesehave included using public protest toforce an apology from the venue thatthrew out the UK Jewish Film Festival;lobbying to ensure the proscription ofNational Action, a violently antisemiticneo-Nazi gang; and campaigning for theBritish Government to be the first countryto adopt the International HolocaustRemembrance Alliance (IHRA) definitionof antisemitism.

CAA has established offices in Londonand Manchester putting its skills andresources at the service of these

Leading the Fight Against Antisemitism

Binyomin Gilbert, Manchester CAA

Jonathan Goldstein meets with JRC OfficersJonathan Goldstein, Chair of the

Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), metin July with the JRC’s Officers.Discussion during this cordialworking meeting centred on currentand common political, educationaland communal issues.

Jonathan described his recentmeeting with the Labour leadershipwhere anti-Semitism and relations withIsrael were discussed. Potential threats tothe Jewish community had beenidentified and he stressed the need forthe Jewish community to build strongcoalitions with other minority groups, aswell as the wider community.

Jonathan described how the JLC hasestablished a working group chaired bySir Howard Bernstein to look at socialcare for the elderly in our community and

JRC hosts BoD PresidentialHustings in Manchester

All four candidates for the Board ofDeputies Presidency faced an audience ofover 50 at a Manchester Hustings meeting,hosted by the Jewish RepresentativeCouncil, at the Great New and CentralSynagogue, Salford in May 2018.

The candidates were all impressive inpresenting their respective manifestos and

(L-r) Jonathan Goldstein, Jonny Wineberg, Jay Charara, JackyBuchsbaum, Jeremy Michelson and Russell Conn

Candidates (l-r) Simon Hochauser, Marie vander Zyl, Sheila Gewolb and Edwin Shuker

they responded with great eloquence to awide range of pertinent and perceptivequestions from the audience.

Marie van der Zyl was eventually votedin as President at the BoD's AGM withSheila Gewolb and Edwin Shukerappointed as Senior Vice-President andVice-President respectively.

review its fitness forpurpose. He expressedconcern that by 2022there will be a majorfinancial deficit in thedelivery of theseservices. The JLC is alsolooking at TeenageMental Health and hasestablished a project intwo primary schools(one in Manchester)and two secondaryschools which involves the funding ofWelfare Officers within each of them tosupport children at risk. Jonathandiscussed how PaJes, the education arm ofthe JLC, was engaging with Ofsted andhoped that they would be able to broker asettlement between Ofsted and the

Orthodox Jewish communities.Jonathan was thanked for coming to

Manchester for the meeting. It was agreedto increase cooperation and collaborationbetween the JLC and JRC, and to workmore closely on mutually beneficial jointinitiatives in the future.

The Sherman Lecture

“When he hit me in the face withhis phone I just knew that I neededhelp”. This is where Jewish Women’sAid (JWA) comes into the pictureexplained Joanne Woolfson, North ofEngland Volunteers, Education &Awareness Officer. Joanne wasspeaking to the JRC Executive at one oftheir meetings, reports Clive Moss-Barclay, JRC Publicity Officer.

Joanne informed the Executivemembers that one woman in four willexperience domestic abuse in the courseof her lifetime. It affects all womenregardless of age, education, class, lifestyleor religion and the Jewish community isno different to any other. Domesticviolence and abuse can take manydifferent forms including physicalviolence, emotional abuse, sexualviolence, enforced isolation, harassmentand stalking, excessive control, threats ofviolence and economic or financial abuse.

Victims are not confined to one genderor ethnic group, reported Joanne,although the overwhelming majority ofdomestic violence is by men againstwomen. People from every class, age, raceand religion are abused, as are people withdisabilities. Women aged between 16 and24 are significantly more likely to bevictims of any domestic abuse thanwomen in any other age group.

Joanne described how JWA exists tosupport and empower women and girls,who are experiencing violence and abuse,by providing client-centred support bywomen. It also works to increaseawareness, education and understandingin the Jewish Community in order toprevent violence against women.

JWA services are free to all Jewishwomen who are experiencing, or haveexperienced, domestic abuse. All theirservices are completely confidential. Forfurther information or help, email [email protected] or telephone 0808 8010500.

Combating Anti-Semitismthrough Education

Violence AgainstWomen & Girls

Peace between Israel and thePalestinians can only come through a“bottom up” process involvingindividuals working together on manysmall, mutually beneficial projects.This was how Dr Asaf Siniver,Associate Professor in InternationalSecurity at Birmingham University,started this year’s Sherman lecture,reports Jeremy Michelson, JRC ViceChair (Education).

‘25 Years of the Israel – Palestine PeaceProcess’ was the title of Dr Siniver’slecture. Having written Abba Eban’sbiography, he described how Eban hadclaimed that “states only choose the wisecourse of action when all other optionshave failed”. Dr Siniver described howIsraelis and Palestinians have been on apeace process since 1993 which hasfaltered, firstly because both Israelis andPalestinians have had conflictinghistorical narratives; both seeingthemselves as victims and as the originalinhabitants of the land. Secondly, the ideathat “Nothing is agreed until all is agreed”has created a stumbling block to any finalagreement. Thirdly, according to DrSiniver, there has been amisunderstanding over priorities. Israelsees security as a major issue, whereas the

In late April we co-hosted theSherman Community Lecture, whichattracted over 60 people. Dr Asaf Siniverof Birmingham University gave achallenging lecture on the possibilities forpeace in the Middle East, a topic that is

international community sees settlementsas a major problem. This is because theyare so visible. Fourthly, the USA has runout of ideas of how to develop a peaceprocess (despite its successes in the 1970s)and is not seen as an honest broker in theArab world.

A lack of trust, on a personal andcommunity level, between Israelis andPalestinians has worsened markedly since2000 making a top down approach topeace almost impossible. Hence, a bottomup approach to peace-making could bethe way in which confidence can berestored and peace can blossom.

The lecture by Dr Siniver at the Bayitin Salford was organised by the JRC, ZCCand Centre for Jewish Studies at theUniversity of Manchester.

88

The JRC Education Working Group(EWG) has had an exciting fewmonths, taking actions that we hopewill benefit the community, reportsJeremy Michelson, JRC Vice-Chair(Education).

close to our hearts (See full report below).In July we represented the community

at Collabor8, the multi-faith, multi-cultural and Diversity celebration. Withartefacts and pictures, we displayed thevibrancy of our faith and culture to a wideaudience.

Another exciting development is thatwe are assembling a group of volunteers tovisit schools, teaching about all aspects ofJudaism. The JRC office receives a steadystream of requests asking for people tocome into schools to talk about Judaism.Therefore, we are looking for volunteerswho would be prepared to be trained to dojust that. You would be given support andartefacts would be made available for you.You will discover a world in which youngpeople are eager to find out about otherfaiths and ways of life. If we show what avibrant and outward looking religionJudaism is then we take a positiveapproach to combating anti-Semitism.

If you are interested, please contact theJRC office (Tel: 0161 720 8721 or email:[email protected])

(L-r) Jacky Buchsbaum and Jeremy Michelsonat the JRC stand at Bury�s Collabor8 event

(L-r) Karen Soloman, Dr Asaf Siniver, SharonBannister, Robert Festenstein, Professor AlexSamely and Jeremy Michelson

Joanne Woolfson

Preserving the Memoryof the Holocaust

7

The Hale Boys� Chior singing Vehi She�amda

Over 1000 people attended with many faithsrepresented.. The theme was law & disorderand how those tasked with upholding the law(the police and judiciary) sadly joined in thedisorder. The audience heard chilling accountsof how innocent adults and children wereeither put to death or made to work for thedespicable Nazi regime. They were alsoreminded that the inhuman treatment of Jewsand others was the result of German citizensallowing the State to pursue a monstrous andlegal manifesto of murder, cruelty and ethniccleansing.

Michelle Levine, told of how herGrandmother, Renee Mosbacher, and otherJewish state school pupils were officially told

9

one day by the educational authorities thatthey could no longer attend lessons because oftheir religion. Renee also witnessed beatings ofJews by uniformed officers. She was eight yearsold at the time.

Keynote speaker was Martin Davidson,whose book 'The Perfect Nazi' is by way of anapology to the world for the war crimes of hisGerman grandfather, Bruno Langbehn, a top-ranking officer in the SS, the elite securityservice charged with sending Europe's Jews tothe death camps.

Survivor Leslie Kleinman related how heand others were told to line up in front ofJoseph Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death,so that Mengele could decide who was fitenough to be put to work and who should beput to death.

Debbie Greenstein told of how her fatherJack Aizenberg was separated from the familyhe was never to see again, and was taken firstto a slave labour camp in Poland and then toBuchenwald where he was starved andtortured. Miraculously he survived andeventually came to England for treatment andrecuperation.

The audience also heard the Hale Boys'

Choir sing 'Vehi She'amda' and Kaddish wasrecited by Stuart Ferster, son of late Holocaustsurvivor, Chaim Ferster.

The Jewish Representative Council hosted a

Keynote Speaker Martin Davidson

Sam Gontarz with his family

The resolve and determination topreserve thememory of the courageousvictims of the Holocaust as a signpost forfuture generations was themain purposeof the YomHashoah Commemorationheld earlier this year at the AudaciousConference Centre in Salford.

pre-event Receptionattended by civic guestsfrom the NorthWestincluding MPs, LordMayors, Judges, the ChiefConstable and otherrepresentatives of thePolice. These are the verypeople we would rely on toprotect us if anything likethe Shoah were to happenhere in the UK. Hopefullyevents such as this wouldhelp them to make the rightdecisions.

Remembering Dr Yaacov Wise, o’hthe age of 63 of Dr Yaakov Wise o'h, whosework as a major link between the Counciland the Orthodox Jewish community willbe sadly missed.

Having originally trained as a teacher,Dr Wise switched professions to retrain asa journalist and marketing professional,serving as head of corporatecommunications for Hillingdon Council.He then became Jewish communityliaison officer delivering council servicesin the Stamford Hill area.

Originally born in Prestwich, Dr Wisereturned to Manchester to work as ateacher at a local Jewish school and also asa PR consultant. He featured prominentlyin the 1991 Channel 4 documentary 'VolvoCity' which was to bring him fame andwhich also spurred his academic and

literary ambitions.He wrote theses and press articles on

religious matters and created a history oflocal Jewry which he updated on a regularbasis. He gained an MA in politics andmodern history at Salford University anda PhD in religions and theology atManchester University's Centre for JewishStudies where he became a researchfellow.

In his later years, and faced withmultiple health conditions, he wroteextensively on problems related to healthand on his Facebook page he was stoicabout discussing his doctors' diagnosesrelating to himself with humour,candidness and defiance.

He is survived by his wife Shprintzeand a brother in Israel.

The Jewish Representative Council wassaddened to hear of the recent passing at

Dr Yaakov Wise, o�h

Placing the Jewish Viewpointon the Political Agenda

Marc Levy is the North WestRegional Manager of the JewishLeadership Council (JLC). To mark hissecond year working for the JLCalongside the JRC, he discusses waysin which his organisation facilitatespolitical engagement on matters thatimpact on Jewish communities acrossthe country.

By the end of September, I will havebeen in contact with around 100 MPs,including several Front Bench membersfrom both sides of the House ofCommons. Among the Labour Members,a significant number have voiced theirconcern that the Party did not adopt thefull International HolocaustRemembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition

Sherry Ashworth (left) with Alexandra Cropper

Marc Levy (left) with David Rutley -Conservative MP for Macclesfield

on anti-Semitism.The Greater Manchester Combined

Authority and almost every localauthority have, with my encouragement,taken the important step of adopting theIHRA definition. Andy Burnham, Mayorof Greater Manchester, and the entiregrouping of Manchester Labour leaders,are on record as saying that the failure ofthe party to root out growing anti-Semitism within its ranks is sending aworrying and dangerous message to theJewish community indicating the Partydoes not care for them as much as theothers.

As part of my focus on politicalengagement, I have organised in excess of50 meetings for the Community ServicesTrust (CST) in order for them to discusswith MPs their critical work in protectingour community. These meetings alsoallowed the CST to describe their crosscommunal work with other faith groups.This subject also formed the backdrop ofa joint meeting with Andrew Gwynne MP,Shadow Secretary of State for Housing,Communities and Local Government andWorld Jewish Relief who discussed theirprogramme to integrate Syrian refugees -a project that Andrew is keen to visit inperson. (Read full article on the JRCwebsite: www.jewishmanchester.org).

REPREP10

The July meeting of the JewishRepresentative Council met in theManchester Jewish Museum. Guestspeaker was the curator, AlexandraCropper.

Alexandra gave an update on the plansto extend the building and restore theoriginal Synagogue to how it would havelooked when it was first opened in 1874.

The Museum has been awarded a grantof nearly £3 Million by the HeritageLottery Fund which, together with the £1.5million that has been raised by donations,will be used to build an extension withgalleries, learning spaces, a shop and acafé.

The Museum will relocate in Decemberto the Manchester Central Library whilethe work is being carried out and isscheduled to reopen in summer 2020. TheMuseum will have a visible presencewhilst it is located within the Library andan artist has been appointed to maximiseits impact on the 1.5 million people thatvisit the Library each year. Activities willinclude a theatre that creates a story witha ‘pop-up’ Synagogue. Staff from theMuseum will also work one day a week inthe local Welcome Centre providingvarious workshops as well as doingoutreach work in schools.

Alexandra described the layout of thenew extension which will provide disabledaccess to both floors of the Synagogue.There are plans to use the extension to tellthe story of Manchester’s JewishCommunity using three main themes,‘Journeys’, ‘Communities’ and ‘Identities’.The upper level of the Synagogue will bedevoted to the lives of women in thecommunity whilst the ground floor areawill describe the life of the Sephardicommunity that built and used it.

Central Libraryto host MJM

UJIA Leadership Programme

of today are graduates of the UJIA Leadership Programmewhich started in 2009 when she was asked by KeithBlack, who was UJIA chairman at the time, to meet thechallenges that the community was facing.

She recruited the first cohort of candidates whom shetook through a programme based, initially, on one thather colleagues were running for lay leaders. To date morethan 50 participants have come through or are currentlyparticipating in the 12 months programme which hasbeen refined over the years. The best educators andtrainers have been secured to teach on the course, alsoensuring that each session is imparted with Jewishthoughts and values and made relevant to the challengesfacing our community.

Sally believes that through this course, the UJIA is inthe process of developing a cadre of leaders who can worktogether for the betterment of the Manchestercommunity. For further information email Sally at:[email protected].

Sally Halon, Manchester UJIA Programmes Director, was guest speaker atJRC’s AGM in May. She told the delegates how many of the young communal leaders

Sally Halon

Innocent Jews Interned in Bury!The story of a World War II internment

camp located in Warth Mills in Bury wasthe subject of a talk given at the Julymeeting of the Jewish RepresentativeCouncil by Errol Gross from the

Manchester Regional Group of the JewishGenealogical Society of GB.

Further information about eventstaking place over the summer is availableat: www.warthmillsproject.com

11

The Youth Interview

transformative gap year working withunderprivileged kids in Pinsk, Belarus. Ireturned home and was living and workingin London when I was approached by TheBoys Clubhouse and asked to run aprogramme for some of the local lads whohad a variety of anti-social behaviouralissues.I agreed, and we soon had a successfulweekly programme running which aimedto give the local lads a place to come to, tosocialise and enjoy some hot food, play afew games of pool and open up aboutanything that was bothering them. It wasclosely followed by a second weeklyprogramme for those who wanted to have amentoring session, offering them a chanceto connect with an open-minded adult andlearn some Torah in a relaxed atmosphere.This was all requested by the participants; Iwas just the facilitator.

I took a break from youth work for acouple of years after I got married andmoved to Manchester. I then happened tospeak to Pini Brandeis who was in theprocess of closing down his youth

SI: How did that experience help you informing TheSupperClub?JL:

programme. His dedicatedwork with the communalyouth was being partiallytaken over by some of hisformer team. They wantedto create something withmore general appeal, butthis left a vacuum for therest. I gladly jumped in andreformed The Supper Clubhere in Manchester. Fiveyears later and I've notlooked back.

T h e S u p p e r C l u bcurrently runs a minimumof one weekly programmeand all our events are open

SI: How does The SupperCluboperate?J L :

Kids Quiz

Teen Perspectiveon Jewish

ManchesterIn his travels, Quincy Barrett has

seen many different Jewishcommunities, from the Chabadcommunity in Crown Heights,Brooklyn, to the community of thetrendy Le Marais in Paris. But as ateenage youth growing up inManchester, what does Quincy thinkabout the Jewish community here?

Three of my four grandparents wereMancunian born and have always livedhere, and all four were English born. Bothmy parents were also born in Manchester,and still live here. I and my sisters werealso born and raised in Manchester.Consequently, I feel I’ve been connectedto this city since before I was born and soit’s fair to say I have a close connection tothe city.

Jews have had a presence inManchester since before my earliestmemories and those of anybody alivetoday. It would be unfair to say that theJewish community does not have a placewithin the identity of Manchester. Foryouths today, the fact we are fortunateenough to have a thriving Jewishcommunity with countless Synagogues,multiple kosher stores and many kosherrestaurants, two communal eruvim, aRepresentative Council and someimpressive Jewish-tolerant school optionsis a fact of life that we have grown up in. Iam unsure whether Jewish teenagers areaware of the gratitude they owe thiscommunity and the amount they rely onit, but I do know they should be grateful.

But established as the community is, Idon’t think many people believe it’swithout its faults. I, as a teenager inManchester, believe I am aware of them.Unfortunately, I feel the faults do causesome divisions within the community, butI believe this is just a part of a naturalprocess any community goes through.

Teenagers, I feel, are also increasinglyaware of the rising anti-Semitism withinthe UK, but I feel this would constitute anentire article itself. This is one of thefactors that make me consider my futureand where it should be.

Despite this, more than anything else,I feel Manchester is my home and theJewish community here is part of myDNA. When I walk to Synagogue on aShabbat morning, I often wonder who I’llrun into. That thought gives me a joyousfeeling that reinforces how much of afamily we, as the Manchester Jewishcommunity, are.

Susan Isaacs, JRC Youth &Co m m u n i t y Of f i ce r,talks to London-borny o u t h w o r k e r, Yo e lLevenson, who runs ahighly successful SupperClub in Manchester forJewish males.SI: What were your earlyexperiences in helpingyoung people?JL: Throughout my teenageyears I was heavily involvedin EzraYouth Group, firstasa participant, and then as aleader. I also led Ezra BoysIsrael Tour in the Summerof2009.I spent a year at Yeshiva inI s r a e l f o l l owe d b y a

to all Jewish males from the wider Jewishcommunity. We operate an open-mindedand non-judgemental environment wherew e p r o v i d e s o c i a l e n g a g e m e n t ,inspirational speakers, a listening ear andalwaysa hotsupper.We have been very fortunate so far in thatthe generous members of the communityhave funded our efforts (myself and all thestaff are volunteers, so our overheads aresmall ) and we have a whole range ofexciting new educational and therapy-based initiatives that we hope to bring tofruition in thecoming months.

I was fortunate to have attended theUJIA Lay Leadership Programme in 2017and thatreally helped metosolidifycertainaims and ambitions for The Supper Club.This resulted in me coming into contactwith the Jewish Representative Council,and I have now become a member of theJRC's Executive.

SI: How did you come into contact withtheJewish RepresentativeCouncil?JL:

SI: Keep up the good work that you aredoing and thank you for talking to

Presents.Rep

1. On which Yom Tov do we blow theShofar and why?

2. Why do we eat pomegranates onRosh Hashanah?

3. What do we call the days betweenRosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

4. What type of shoes are weallowed to wear on Yom Kippur?

5. At what age should you start tofast on Yom Kippur?

6. Why do we eat in a Sukkah onSuccot?

7. What are we celebrating onSimchas Torah?

not

Yoel Levenson, Youth Secretary

Manchester Jewish SoccerLeague Struggles for Teams

12

Community Events Diary! Sunday 7 October:

Monday 5 November:

Thursday 8 Nov:

Thursday 15 Nov:

Monday 19 Nov:

Mon 19 - Thurs 22 Nov:

Sunday 25 Nov:

th

th

th

th

th

th

th

th nd

th

JEWISH REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEETING; 10.30am - ALL WELCOME

JEWISH REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEETING; 10.30am - ALL WELCOME

Festival of Learning; 12 Noon - 5.00pm

The King David Bonfire Party; 6.30pm

Mid Life Crisis Theatre Company presents ‘Hovering on the Edge’; 7.00pm

Maccabi White Collar Boxing Event; All Day

The Friendship Circle Dinner; 7.30pm

Wizo Centenary Anniversary Lunch with Guest Speaker; 12.00 Noon

The Jewish Theatre Company presents ‘I Brutus’; 7.30pm

The Fed Caring Sunday; All Day

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Wednesday 17 Oct:

Sunday 28 October:

Sunday 4 November:

Maccabi - Dancing Strictly; 7.00pm

UJIA Annual Dinner; 7.00pm

Chai Lights Baigel Brunch; 11.00am - 2.00pm

th

FOR DETAILS OF ALL FORTHCOMING EVENTS, CONSULT THE COMMUNITY DIARY ATTo receive our Weekly Email Digest of Communal Events, email us at [email protected]

WWW.JEWISHMANCHESTER.ORG

We are reaching out to you as our Partners and friends to support our Centenary Appeal that will enable the JewishRepresentative Council to continue its vital role, representing, leading, defending and uniting our community, for manymoreyearstocome. The JRC operateson averysmall budgetand sometimeson a hand to mouth basis. Weask that in this, ourCentenaryyear,yougiveusyourfinancial support bycompletingand returningthegreetingsform below.

JRC CENTENARY APPEAL

In recognition ofourachievementsoverthe past 100 years we are producing aCelebration Book ‘

’ that will include a history of theCouncil together with other interestinginformation about the Manchester JewishCommunityoverthesameperiod.

‘ ’ will belaunched at a Gala Dinner next year andwe invite you to partner with us incelebrating this very special anniversaryby sending a greeting to be included inour Book.

This form (right)has details as to howyou can support the JRC. If you would liketo discuss anything further about ourCentenary celebrations, including ticketsfor the Gala Dinner please contact us [email protected] ortelephone our office on 0161 720 8721.

100

100

Years andCounting

Years and Counting

Please complete this form and send it with details of your advert to the JRC Office by post to JRC, Jewish CommunityCentre, 146 Bury Old Road, Manchester M74 QY or email: [email protected].

The MJSL, which celebrated its 70th anniversary thisyear, provides significant opportunities and is a majorasset to our community. The MJSL calls upon allspectrums of the community to encourage their familyand friends to play a more active part in ensuring theSoccer League’s presence is maintained and developed.You can help to ensure that future generations are ableto participate in organised Sunday football. EmailRussell Bernstein at [email protected].