This Shabbat, 10th / 11th December, 2021 is designated ‘Human Rights Shabbat’.

René Cassin have put together a resource pack on the subject of The Right to Food – you can download the document by clicking the link below.

Human Rights Shabbat Resource Pack

You might also want to join us on Sunday 12th December at 4pm for a talk by Rachel Vogler: The Human Right To Food – A Jewish Responsibility

If you have not already donated funds towards the Afghan Refugee crisis, and would like to know where to donate, can we suggest either JCORE (the Jewish Council for Racial Equality) https://www.jcore.org.uk/ or  World Jewish Relief, https://www.worldjewishrelief.org/.

Also, the Board of Deputies has a page of information about how we can help:  https://www.bod.org.uk/bod-news/how-we-can-help-refugees-from-afghanistan/

Goods For Good is a small charity in Watford, which has both UK companies and the community donating essential goods for vulnerable communities in the UK and overseas.  With regard to helping Afghan refugees, they have mountains of clothing and other essential goods which were collected by Bushey United Synagogue, and they need volunteers to sort and pack these goods, which need to be cleared from a private house by the end of September.  

If anyone would like to volunteer to help in this way, please contact sarah@goodsforgood.org.uk and she can advise of the dates/times at the Goods For Good facility at 100 Cecil Street, Watford WD24 5AD.

If you would rather donate funds or essential goods, the best way for us to help is detailed in the Goods for Good newsletter – which you can read at https://mailchi.mp/goodsforgood/august-2021-newsletter

Care4Calais – https://care4calais.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpreJBhDvARIsAF1_BU2hdbSXVmD_XQLy9k08aX6ND-fle7HEE_2xiUdSc8VtxKvJd_vGh-oaAsVWEALw_wcB – operates several collection points for clothes, toys, smart phones and other items needed. See their drop-off map: https://care4calais.org/thedropoffmap/ (Ruislip, Amersham, Chalfont St. Giles are probably the closest to us).

Currently, they are in need of the following:  Men’s new underwear and socks , Toiletries especially deodorant, Trainers size 7/8/9/9.5, Men’s t-shirts, Men’s Jeans, Tracksuits / sports clothes, Note pads pens, English dictionaries

Thank you for helping people who have arrived here, frightened and traumatised, having lost all their worldly possessions.

Uniquely this Chanukah sees Israel enjoying peace for the first time with two Gulf states.

To celebrate this historic event, the Board of Deputies is organising an online Chanukah candle lighting ceremony with the Israeli Ambassador, together with the Ambassadors of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on 15 December at 7pm, you can join the event on the BoD facebook page.

Harry Grant

Kurt, Michael and Johanna Marx feature on BBC sounds “Legacy of War”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000jf6t

In other news, Mosaic’s tablet initiative was also featured in last week’s Jewish Chronicle (albeit as ever with a number of errors!)

We are aware that the current situation is difficult – especially for people who cannot use “tech” to connect with others using video calling, or for practical things like online grocery shopping.

The Mosaic tech team has responded to this with “tablets for the tech phobic” – reconfiguring Kindle Fire tablets to provide Zoom calling, email and voice based internet browsing (Alexa).

Some of our wisest (and oldest) members have got online for the first time through this initiative, and everyone who has had a device from us is using it (we know!)

We are also helping people use their existing devices for Zoom and other things they’ve not done before; the team are very happy to spend an hour or more talking people through that, and providing accessories if needed (webcams, speakers, leads to connect to a TV…) Continue reading →

Jeanette Leibling is making facemasks which are very easy to wash and comfortable to wear, and would like to help protect all members of Mosaic either by providing ready–made facemasks, or by helping you to make your own.  Please contact her and she will be delighted to help everyone to keep safe

We are aware that the current situation is difficult – especially for people who cannot use “tech” to connect with others using video calling.

The Mosaic tech team has responded to this with “tablets for the tech phobic” – reconfiguring old Kindle Fire tablets to provide Zoom calling, email and voice based internet browsing (Alexa).

Can you help with this initiative? We are asking for 3 things:

If you know of anyone who this would help please contact us (and maybe try to persuade them to try this!)

or If you have any spare old Kindle Fire tablets in a cupboard, or a MIFI router (as we guess you’re not travelling much at the moment!) please contact us

or if you can help with this initiative as a (simple!) IT support person then also please contact us

On 11th June Ealing became the last of the London’s 32 councils to finally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.
Quite why Ealing took so long is unclear: the Council is run by a predominantly moderate Labour administration which seemed set to adopt the definition last year. Some opposition emerged, hence the delay.
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council were active in lobbying the council and at the end of March representatives of a number of synagogues from the area met with Julian Bell, the leader of the Council and other councillors. A number of Mosaic members live in the Borough of Ealing so along with a small group of us Rabbi Kathleen was also present. The other synagogues represented were the United and Liberal synagogues based in Ealing and West London Reform. It was good to see Rabbi Kathleen presenting the case for the IHRA definition alongside Rabbi Janet Burden from Ealing Liberal and Rabbi Vogel from Ealing United.
The meeting went well and we would like to think it helped bring about the council’s adoption of the IHRA definition.
The main opposition to this appears to have come from the Revolutionary Communist Group, who unsuccessfully petitioned the council at the start of the council meeting not to adopt the definition.
We had pointed out to Councillor Bell in March that it would be unthinkable for Ealing to be the only council in London not to adopt the IHRA. It is pleasing this did not happen and that the Mosaic community was instrumental in helping to bring this about.

The day after the tragic events in Pittsburgh, the JMI Big Band were rehearsing for their upcoming Chanukah season concert.

Motivated by the band members desire to provide a defiant response of love, anger, catharsis and energy in the face of hate, the band came together to record music, fuelled by the message; We are stronger together, we are stronger than hate.  The video and recording feature Mosaic member Sam on tenor sax

The music is based on the yiddush tune ‘Zog nit keyn mol’ – the Partisan song (find out more about that here), given a new contemporary interpretation by the band

This recording is dedicated to: Joyce Fienberg, Rich Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, Irving Younger z”l
Murdered in Pittsburgh October 27 2018

The proceeds from this single are being donated to the Tree Of Life Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh and CST.  You can download the song, donate (donations made to JMI will go to this appeal), and get tickets for their concert on Monday at JW3

Mosaic Liberal Synagogue welcomed visitors from Wembley central Masjid and Harlesden Methodist Church to services marking Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

In his sermon, Rabbi Frank spoke about how, as a result of our anxieties and fears concerning the state of the world today, many people turn to a mythical past for inspiration instead of seeking to help others who are vulnerable in the present and having hope for the future. A fantasised ‘Retrotopia’ (the concept described by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman) is what is behind today’s regressive nationalistic movements and toxic authoritarian leaders. Immigrants, refugees and ethnic minorities are seen as contaminants in such situations which encourages openly expressed racism and hate crime to increase. One of the ways to make for more justice and compassion would be for there to be much more practical day to day collaboration between those of different faiths. Rabbi Frank will speak more about this aspect on Yom Kippur (Day of Repentance).  (see also https://www.facebook.com/WembleyCentralMasjid)