Jewish Community Centre attracts a capacity crowd to its "Sing Off"

The Jewish Community Centre attracted a capacity crowd to its "Sing Off". Hampstead Town Hall was packed with 200 people of all ages, who were treated to performances by the Zimmers and the Jewish Care choir. Participants were also offered various workshops. At the end of the day, a concert was held to celebrate all the choirs, which included a performance by Jonah and the Whalers, led by scriptwriter and TV producer Dan Patterson.

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New chairman for British Friends of Boys Town Jerusalem

Lee Reuben is the new chairman of British Friends of Boys Town Jerusalem, succeeding Jeffrey Pinnick, who held the post for four years. Mr Reuben, a long-time supporter of the charity, is managing director of a marketing consultancy. He looked forward to helping Boys Town "turn young boys from limited backgrounds into young men with limitless futures".

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Oxford's J-soc's annual pre-term party a success

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London memorial for IDF soldiers

A Bnei Akiva-organised service in memory of Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser at Hampstead Garden Synagogue on Sunday was attended by over 500 people.

Board of Deputies president Henry Grunwald was among communal leaders and Israeli representatives at the service, arranged at short notice by BA's Eli Bauernfreund and Joshua Pomerance following the return of the soldiers' bodies to Israel from Lebanon as part of a prisoner-exchange deal.

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A rocket from Sderot

A group of 19- to 24-year-olds from Sderot brought an unusual gift to their South Hampstead Synagogue hosts — the shell of a Kassam rocket fired at their town in 2003.

The rocket shell, taken to London with Israeli government permission, was placed on the synagogue entrance table on Shabbat. “It stunned congregants to silence,” reported Alexandra Maurice, chair of the Hineni committee, under whose auspices the young Israelis visited. It was a “stark and real” reminder of the daily threat to Sderot residents.

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Strong legal argument

Delivering the annual Isaiah Berlin Lecture at Hampstead Synagogue, Baroness Kennedy argued that while law and democracy are the pillars of British society, it is the law which is paramount.

The human-rights and civil-liberties specialist pointed out that there are currently 80 cases of alleged Islamic terrorism awaiting trial.

Trying to take short-cuts would only lead to unsafe convictions and thus should be avoided.

Although one impulse to the threat of terrorism was to withdraw the rights of some, judges should fight to maintain the human rights of everyone.

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Second film festival for Tel Aviv University Trust

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Leeds duo to run London arts show

Two Leeds women are to run an arts festival to attract young people into a London theatre to experience the venue as a centre of performance.

The scheme got under way when Leeds-born directors Emma Gordon and Alexa Christopher-Daniels introduced their project, Twenty 2e7en, to young arts professionals at the New End Theatre in Hampstead in January.

Following the  event, a core company was established comprising 12 directors, performers and designers. As a result, Ms Gordon and Ms Christopher-Daniels have created the two-day festival at the theatre.

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Zaka donated rapid rescue motorcycle

North London residents Gillian and Irving Carter donated a rapid rescue motorcycle to Zaka in honour of their grandson Asher’s barmitzvah. At a dedication ceremony in Tel Aviv, David Rose, executive director of the British Friends of Zaka, said: ”Thanks to your generous donation, Zaka volunteers are able to get to an accident in the fastest possible time.”

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‘Not in my back yard’: Charedi chief fights new eruv plan

The religious leader of London’s Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations moved this week to prevent the creation of an eruv in his own back yard.

Rabbi Ephraim Padwa, head of the Union’s rabbinate, urged members of the strictly Orthodox community not to back plans for a local eruv that would cover the Charedi strongholds of Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington in North London.

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