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)

This event will take place on Sunday 27th May from 7.00 – 10.30 pm at Wembley Youth Centre, London Road, HA9 7EU.  If you’d like to attend, please tell Rabbi Frank who will arrange for your name to be on the list at the door.

We are growing our relationship with Sufra-NW London, a community food bank and kitchen, based in Stonebridge Park in the London Borough of Brent, which aims to support disadvantaged families suffering food poverty.   Some of Sufra’s guests are asylum seekers, some suffer from poverty despite working long hours and others are plagued by either or both physical and emotional difficulties.  Sufra’s multi-faith staff and volunteers offer guests a safe haven; meals, food parcels, practical advice and referrals and emotional support.  There are fully certified and effective job training programmes and an ethos of guests trained to becoming helpful volunteers, too.   I have been consistently impressed by the high calibre of the small army of committed teenaged volunteers; energetic, intelligent, caring and imbued with humour and a love of life.

During the last year on a bi-monthly basis, together with a few Mosaic congregants, I have joined Sufra’s Friday evening dinners.  We light candles and converse with the other guests, some of whom are deeply troubled and very lonely.  For this mitzvah of simply offering dignity to our fellow human beings, Sufra awarded our community a certificate recognizing our involvement.  This happened in March, at a special event on the occasion of the charity’s fifth anniversary.   Finally, I should also mention that this week Cathy and I are subsisting on a typical food parcel –that we purchased from Sufra– in order to experience more fully what is provided to needy households.–Rabbi Dr Frank Dabba Smith