Kosher baker who tried to give wife abortion loses his appeal

A kosher-bakery owner who secretly gave his pregnant wife abortion pills lost his appeal against a jail sentence this week.

Gil Magira, 36, from Hendon, North-West London, was jailed for three years and nine months for secretly poisoning his wife’s breakfast after she refused to terminate her pregnancy.

The owner of the Bonjour bakeries in Hendon and Stanmore and the Lemonade restaurant in Hendon pleaded  guilty in March to administering a noxious substance with intent to procure a miscarriage.

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Board attacks Tonge’s Israel lobby criticism

The president of the Board of Deputies has written to the leader of the Lib Dems in the House of Lords to complain after the outspoken critic of Israel, Baroness Tonge, made comments about the Board in Parliament.

In his letter to Lord McNally, Henry Grunwald said that the Lib Dem peer had “allowed her criticism of Israel to overstep the mark” and had “gone too far” during a debate last Thursday on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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‘Assassination risk’ leads Russian to sue in London

An Israel-based oligarch will fight a $4 billion legal dispute in London after a judge deemed it to be unsafe for the case to be heard in Russia.

Michael Cherney is suing his former business partner, Oleg Deripaska, Russia’s richest man, in an attempt to recover an alleged debt.

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Father makes abuse claim after 50 years

Police have taken a statement from a man who claims to have been abused on a holiday organised by a Jewish charity 50 years ago. 

Brian Ingram, 59, from Hampstead, North-West London, told police that children were beaten with a belt on a trip to Seaford, Sussex, with the Jewish Children’s Holiday Fund, which provides free trips for deprived youngsters. He also said he was made to lick toilet seats.

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Minister vows strong Israel ties

Britain’s business minister has pledged to strengthen the ties between Israel and the UK.

John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, told the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner: “We must continue to actively encourage those people committed to the realisation of an Israel free from terror and at peace for generations to come, alongside a viable, independent and prosperous Palestinian state.

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Father vows to fight on against JFS entry rules

Judge rules that top school’s admission policy does not break race-relations laws

A father who has been refused a judicial review of the admissions policy of JFS, Europe’s biggest Jewish school, has sought permission to appeal.

Last week, in a 72-page written judgement, Mr Justice Munby cleared JFS of the accusation that its admissions policy broke race laws both directly and indirectly. He said the school’s policy was based on religious and not racial or ethnic grounds.

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Amy takes a kosher tour of Golders Green

Amy Winehouse astonished shoppers in Golders Green last week by going walkabout in the Jewish shops. Armed with a minder and a bottle of water, the volatile star happily posed for pictures in Carmelli’s Bakery, the Kosher Deli and Yarden. But her sunny mood did not last: later in the week, she was alleged to have hit her own bodyguard and attacked a man in a pub. More chicken soup, Amy?

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Union blocks boycott move

The “Boycott Israel” campaign has been dealt a significant blow after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ (RMT) annual meeting overturned its pro-boycott policy.

More than two-thirds of the delegates voted in favour of a tough-talking but balanced resolution that not only condemned violence and racism on both sides, but also insisted that: “The Hamas Charter is a virulently antisemitic document that exhorts the killing of Jews and subordinates all social and human rights to Islam.”

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Mystery as butcher withdraws cooked meats

A leading North-West London butcher has been forced to withdraw cooked meats from its shelves for several weeks, but the reason remains unclear.

The Meat Hygiene Service, part of the government’s Food Standards Agency, issued a remedial-action notice to the Kosher Delicatessen chain, which has shops in Temple Fortune, Golders Green and Edgware and a production factory in Cricklewood. As a result, thousands of pounds worth of cooked meats were cleared from its shelves.

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JC editor for Condé Nast magazine

JC editor David Rowan has been appointed editor of Wired, a national newsstand magazine to be launched by Condé Nast in 2009. He will leave the Jewish Chronicle towards the end of this year.

“I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime unsolicited approaches to create a UK version of America’s most exciting and innovative magazine, and it was too fantastic an opportunity to refuse,” Mr Rowan said.

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