London’s South Hampstead Synagogue, along with shops and telephone booths in the area, were found daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Magen David alongside the numbers “9 11” – a likely reference to the conspiracy theory that Jews were behind the 9/11 attacks – were rapidly removed by Camden street cleaning teams.
A spokesperson for South Hampstead Synagogue said, “As a community we regret the rise of hate speech in society. This is a time for people of all backgrounds – of all faiths and of none – to stand united and show our determination that we do not tolerate prejudice, hate, and division.”
Politics dogged the response to the incident as the official Jewish community did not support an anti-racism rally in the area the following day organized by the pro-Corbynite Jewish Voice for Labour and Stand Up To Racism, which is linked to the Socialists Workers Party.
Shomrim president Rabbi Herschel Gluck, however, addressed the rally and told The Jewish Press, “I spoke about Chanukah. There were around 300 people there, a very mixed crowd. The message was very positive. People really spoke out against anti-Semitism, including leading members of the black community, who spoke very passionately about the need to improve matters in their community on anti-Semitism.”
Canvey Island Yeshiva Suffers Chanukah Fire
A yeshiva was heavily damaged by fire on Chanukah in Canvey Island, Essex. Chanukah lights in Luzern Yeshiva were left unattended as students celebrated the holiday at their rabbi’s house.
Honours List Includes 30 Holocaust Survivors
Around 30 Holocaust survivors and educators were included in this week’s New Year’s Honours list.
Manchester Auschwitz survivor Eva Neumann, 90, who has shared her war-years experience with around 15 Aish tours of concentration camps, received an MBE for services to Holocaust education. She told The Jewish Press, “It is very nice and I am very pleased, but I don’t know why I got it.”
Equally surprised was fellow Mancunian Peter Kurer, who received a British Empire Medal. Born in Austria, Kurer and his family were brought to England in 1938 on a Quaker rescue mission. He told The Jewish Press, “The award came completely out of the blue. My biggest achievement was getting Yad Vashem to recognize the contribution of the Quakers in rescuing Jews. When I first went to Yad Vashem, they had nothing on them. Seven years later they accepted my thesis.”
Kurer, who describes himself as “only 88,” has a schedule filled with speaking engagements on the Holocaust till next September.
Also gaining a BEM was Ruth Lachs, who survived the Holocaust hiding in Holland, and Manchester sisters Gisela Feldman, 96, and Sonja Sternberg, 93, who left Germany in 1939 on the infamous St. Louis ship. They have spoken of their experiences all over the world.
Gaining an OBE were Holocaust Education Trust chair Paul Phillips, Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association president Gertrude Silman, and leading immunologist and Kindertransport survivor Leslie Brent, who died last week at age 94.
Former MP Wants Jewish Voice in Labour’s Future
Ruth Smeeth, who remained in the Labour Party to fight anti-Semitism and lost her seat in Parliament in the recent election, told a parliamentary event marking the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport, “I truly believe that G-d puts you where you need to be to have the battles that need to be had.”
She urged the assembled to join the Jewish Labour Movement so they can have a say on who becomes the next Labour Party leader.
She said, “Unless the next party leader has a record of publicly attacking racism in the party, demanding expulsions, standing by the whistleblowers, and supporting JLM as the sole Jewish affiliate to the party, then they will not get my vote.”
Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the Jewish News, “A basic requirement of any leader is to show not just that they can talk the talk, but to show they will kick out anyone who is a racist, and that’s what an anti-Semite is.”
He added, “If you want to put yourself forward to be the next prime minister, you have to be tough on anti-Semitism.”
A group of defeated Labour MPs and candidates have blamed “a repeated unwillingness to stand up to the stain of anti-Semitism” as one of the reasons the party suffered a disastrous election defeat two weeks ago.