Off the back of a lorry

Britain’s only strictly Orthodox lorry driver, Moshe Rothstein, is to swap his 44-tonne, 55-foot truck for a truncheon after becoming a special constable.

The 28-year-old, known as Mozza to his colleagues, will now volunteer part-time for Greater Manchester Police in Salford — not so much a cop out, as a cop in.

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Embassy’s lack of Irish charm

When it comes to publicity, someone should tell the Israeli Embassy in Ireland that there are better ways to promote Israel’s cause than posting a distasteful message next to a photo of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

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Oona King who would be ice queen

Reality TV may be an unlikely place to find a baroness, but Oona King will soon be strutting her stuff in ITV1’s Dancing on Ice competition.

The 45-year-old former MP was last seen taking on Ken Livingstone for the right to be Labour’s London mayoral candidate.

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Not the most wanted award

Ha’aretz journalist Gideon Levy has a new title to add to his CV after he was named Dishonest Reporter of the Year.

The “award” was bestowed by Israeli media monitoring organisation Honest Reporting, which accused Mr Levy of “misrepresenting an Israeli opinion poll to conclude that the Israeli public supports apartheid”.

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Klezmer rocks the Kremlin

The British klezmer band Oi Va Voi played at the Kremlin on Monday — a year later than had been originally planned.

They had been invited last year to Moscow by Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar to perform at the Annual Jewish Awards ceremony.

“The ceremony was cancelled, we don’t know why,” said clarinettist and singer Stephen Levi.

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Downing Street Menorah

Party-goers at Wednesday’s Downing Street Chanucah reception admired the beautiful silver menorah — which, it transpires, actually belongs to Number Ten.

It was a gift to Tony Blair on a visit to Israel, presented to him by Avner Shalev of Yad Vashem.

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The bride went barefoot

A nice story from Evening Standard columnist Sam Leith, recounting an interfaith wedding he attended with a Jewish bride and Christian groom. It featured rituals from both faiths, including the bride circling the groom and smashing a glass.

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