Jeremy Issacharoff and Mark Sofer go from being best friends at Hasmonean to diplomatic ambassadors for Israel

Jeremy Issacharoff and Mark Sofer were childhood friends in London. They both rose to be senior Israeli diplomats —- and both have now been promoted to the personal rank of ambassador, the top position in the diplomatic hierarchy.

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Solomon Levy makes history to become the Mayor of Gibraltar

Grandfather-of-twenty Solomon Levy has been made Mayor of Gibraltar.

Mr Levy, who has written for the JC, is believed to be the first non-political candidate to receive the accolade. “I adore Gibraltar, and to me this is the greatest honour I could ever get,” Mr Levy, 71, tells People. “I intend to put Gibraltar on the map as much as possible.” He is the third Jew to be Mayor of Gibraltar. The first was his uncle, the late Sir Joshua Hassan.

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Isabelle Stead gets an award nomination for her film, Kosher

Film director Isabelle Stead has been nominated for an award for her creation, Kosher. The film — a comedy about a young Jewish boy who befriends a pig — is up for Best Short Script at the Super Shorts International Film Festival currently taking place.

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Robert Davis becomes deputy leader of Westminster Council

Councillor Robert Davis has been elected deputy leader of Westminster Council. Mr Davis, 50, is the civil partner of Sir Simon Milton, who recently stepped down as council leader to become Boris Johnson’s senior planning adviser.

Mr Davis has served as a Westminster councillor for the past 26 years and was thought to be the youngest-ever Lord Mayor — a post he took at the age of 38 and held from 1996 to 1997.

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Alan Share slams the government’s policy on education for special-needs children

The government department for children, school and families has reported a significant fall in the number of children with special education needs (SEN) being placed in special schools — a result of Labour’s inclusion policy to have SEN children taught in mainstream schools.

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Sylvie Henry and Danielle Leslie bring celebrities together for a West End show to raise money for cancer research

Mother and daughter Sylvie Henry and Danielle Leslie, who have both suffered breast cancer, have set up a charity to help defeat the disease.

Mrs Leslie, a full-time mother-of-three, is currently clear of cancer, while Mrs Henry, 60, was recently diagnosed with incurable lung cancer.

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Menachem Haziza saves up to build a synagogue in Israel

North-London butcher Menachem Haziza has taken on a new project — with no knowledge of meat required.

The 56-year-old owner of Menachems, in Golders Green, has used his savings to build a synagogue in Beit She’an in Israel, in memory of his parents, Aliza and Yosef.

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Wolf Suschitzky snaps up a lifetime achievement award for cinematography

You may not know the name, but you have probably seen Wolf Suschitzky’s work. A veteran cameraman, he has worked on films including Get Carter, staring Michael Caine, and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Last week, Vienna-born Mr Suschitzky, 96, was awarded Vienna’s Gold Merit Medal lifetime-achievement award from the Austrian Ambassador in London.

“It was very strange,” he tells People. “It was nice having all my family and close friends there.”

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Geoffrey Berg battles a Greater Manchester congestion charge

Campaigner Geoffrey Berg is fighting against controversial plans to introduce a congestion charge in Greater Manchester.

Ministers approved a bid for the initiative last week.

Mr Berg, an ex-councillor in Bury, is urging councillors to vote against the charge. His campaign is sparking referendums for publicly elected mayors, which if successful could oust council leaders.

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Mark Silverman lobbies the government to help find a cure for his son’s illness

North London father Mark Silverman is lobbying the government to fund more research into a life-limiting disease suffered by his son. Thomas, aged three, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe muscle-wasting condition that primarily affects boys and young men. It is currently incurable.

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