Birmingham

Windows that need to be kept in frame

Cathy Forman — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:22:15 +0000

Birmingham Central Synagogue is seeking homes for 36 etched glass windows before its move to smaller, modern premises on its Pershore Road site.

Shul president Geoffrey Clements explained that 42 windows, depicting the festivals and other significant occasions, “were specially commissioned in 1960 for the [then] new building and are unique. We only have the space to include six of the windows in our new building and are therefore looking to find homes for the other 36, generating some useful income for the community at the same time. They are extremely valuable and would cost in excess of £5,000 each if they were commissioned from new.”

Work is under way on a construction project, due for completion before the High Holy-Days, to convert the synagogue’s Malcolm Locker Hall into a shul for its 200 members. The current synagogue building was sold to a care home developer to fund the £500,000 redevelopment.

A celebratory dinner to mark 50 years of the Malcolm Locker Hall attracted 150 people. The evening’s brochure featured photos of community events down the years and film footage of the opening in 1961 was shown.
Images of the windows can be viewed on the shul website, www.centralshul.com

Birmingham terrorists found guilty

Anna Sheinman — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:33:17 +0000

Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, have been found guilty of planning a huge terrorist attack in the UK, during which they discussed the possibility of charging into a synagogue with guns if they could not create a bomb.

A judge in Woolwich Crown court found the three men from Birmingham guilty of being “central figures” in a bomb plot that could have caused mass deaths.

During the trial the court heard a taped conversation in which Naseer told a fourth man, Mohammed Rizwan, who was not on trial: “Even if we can’t make a bomb... get guns yeah from the black geezers, Africans and charge into some like synagogue [sic] or charge into different places.”

Brum shul is set for sale and rebuilding

Cathy Forman — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:05:38 +0000

Birmingham Central Synagogue has received city council consent for the sale of the synagogue building to a care home developer — and for the conversion of its Malcolm Locker Hall into a modern shul for the 200 members.

The proceeds from the sale of half the Pershore Road site to Gracewell Properties will fund the £500,000 redevelopment project.

“This is a pivotal moment in the future of our congregation,” said Central president, Geoffrey Clements. “It has taken us over five years to reach this point and, despite all the challenges we have faced, we now have contracts in place to allow our dreams to be realised.”

Tendering is under way for the six-month construction project, due for completion in time for the 2013 High Holy-Days. Central is seeking a new home for the 44 etched glass windows depicting the festivals and other significant occasions. “The new building will only have space for a handful of these and we are hoping to find a suitable home for this collection either in the UK, Israel or the US,” Mr Clements said.

Batsheva protester arrested over anti-Jewish slur

Jennifer Lipman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:26:03 +0000

A man was arrested for racial harassment during a protest against an Israeli dance company in Birmingham on Tuesday evening

The 41-year-old was apprehended by police outside the Birmingham Hippodrome after using a racial slur about Jews toward another attendee.

He was part of a group of anti-Israel activists gathered to demonstrate against the first of two shows performed by the Batsheva Ensemble, the youth arm of Israel's acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company.

Activists also disrupted the performance several times, as has happened on other stops of the tour in Edinburgh, Salford and Brighton, and five were removed by security staff.

The arrested man was dealt with by way of a community resolution at the wishes of the victim, and was released that evening without charge.

Batsheva show goes on in Birmingham despite protests

Jennifer Lipman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:08:13 +0000

Five anti-Israel activists were removed from the audience of the Birmingham Hippodrome after mounting vocal protests against Israel's Batsheva Ensemble during their performance.

Activists have arranged demonstrations outside the venues at all of the stops of the Dance Consortium arranged tour, including in Edinburgh, Brighton and Bradford. At each performance, they have also purchased tickets in order to shout out anti-Israel slogans during the show, in an attempt to disturb the dancers. However the Batsheva performers have consistently maintained their composure and their performances have mostly not stopped. Last night's performance was briefly halted while protesters were ejected shouting slogans such as "free free Palestine", "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free" and "Don't cross the picket, burn your ticket".

"The dancers just paused on stage and carried on amazingly – the audience was totally behind them," said one person who saw the show.

On Tuesday night, in the first of two performances in Birmingham, the disruptions were co-ordinated by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (Bricup), and by Sue Blackwell, the veteran anti-Israel academic and former lecturer in English at the University of Birmingham.

Before the show a group of supporters of the Batsheva performers also held a counter-demonstration.

In Brighton over the weekend it was a similar scene. "The pro-Palestine supporters were very aggressive and were shouting at people entering the show- remarks about Palestinian blood on their tickets," said a woman who attended a rally in solidarity with the dancers. There were also three disturbances during the show.

"The venue security staff moved very quickly and had the instigators removed instantly. Following the example set in Edinburgh and Manchester, this was to the applause and cheering of the audience supporting the performers and the removal of the trouble makers."

Although the second of the two originally scheduled Batsheva performances at the Brighton Dome was cancelled out of awareness for security requirements, the venue recorded the show and aired i t on the website, attracting nearly 1,000 views in one day, as well as holding a private screening.

The chief executive of the Brighton Dome, Andrew Comben, said freedom of expression was vital to the arts and vowed to continue to welcome artists from all over the world.

"We have a duty to ensure that our audiences have a safe and enjoyable experience," he said. "We are disappointed that their enjoyment of this company's work was disturbed on Friday evening."

Terror plot and a ‘gun raid on shul’

Anna Sheinman — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Three Birmingham men accused of planning a huge terrorist attack in the UK discussed the possibility of charging into a synagogue with guns if they could not create a bomb.

Ashik Ali, Irfan Khalid, both 27, and Irfan Naseer, 31, deny planning and fundraising for a terrorist attack and recruiting others for terrorism.

In taped conversations heard by Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Naseer told a fourth man, Mohammed Rizwan, who is not on trial: “Even if we can’t make a bomb... get guns yeah from the black geezers, Africans and charge into some like synagogue [sic] or charge into different places.”

The three are among a group of 11 men accused of plotting a series of suicide bomb attacks in the UK.

In another taped conversation, Mr Naseer talks about other methods of killing people that he was taught about while allegedly undergoing terror training in Pakistan.

One such method, allegedly, involved poisoning skin cream and smearing it on the door handles of cars. He said: “They open the door and then five minutes, they die man... kill about 1,000 people.”

The trial continues.

Creating a cross-communal atmosphere

Daniel Bratt — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:56:13 +0100

At Birmingham JSoc, cross-communalism is at the centre of our ideals, in line with UJS policy which states that "UJS and J-Soc activities should be open to all Jewish students regardless of religious affiliation or denomination". In reality however, this ideal presents a number of challenges.

Birmingham is an extremely popular university for Jewish students. At our first Friday night this year we hosted 250 people, around half of whom were freshers! It's far enough from home (usually London or Manchester) for people to escape overbearing Jewish mothers, but close enough to rush back if in need of some home-made chicken soup. Add to that a thriving nightlife and a number of decent universities, and it's easy to see the appeal.

With a small but welcoming Orthodox community, a fantastic chaplain with years of experience and even a group of students who organise their own minyan, it's clear Birmingham is an attractive option for observant Orthodox students too, who may have previously stayed in their home city. The worry is that the huge influx of observant Orthodox students has left many non-affiliated or Progressive Jews feeling uncomfortable or even unwelcome.

Pluralism is hard to do right. Many suggest that it can't be done at all. Why should pluralism mean compromise of one denomination or another's Judaism? And what can we do to turn the tide of what has come to be seen as an Orthodox-centric JSoc? One thing we tried to encourage and implement was an egalitarian service on a Friday night.

It ran a couple of times last term and we hope, with the help of a number of Progressive students, to get it back up and running again. We have started a dialogue with Jeneration and a group of more active progressive students in Birmingham, with whom we hope to be able to support in their activities and work with to find solutions to problems they encounter.

Last term we welcomed Benji Stanley of Liberal Judaism to speak and we have featured articles by progressive rabbis in our weekly "Insight" leaflet including Birmingham's own Dr Margaret Jacobi. This term we look forward to hearing Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner. Our most recent endeavour to counter the hegemony of Orthodox Judaism in JSoc and move towards a more inclusive society, is our safe space policy.

The document is our official commitment to battle any degrading or offensive behaviour towards anyone of a different denomination, sexuality, race or against disability and to promote 'a safe and comfortable environment for all members'.

An extract reads: "Birmingham JSoc…has cross-communalism, inclusivity and a welcoming nature at the heart of its ideals. This is in line with Jewish tradition which places an emphasis on being hospitable and making visitors feel welcome... a small amount of effort on your part can make all the difference in creating a genuinely safe space, in which everyone who wishes can play a part."

In reality, most of our events do not even revolve around Judaism but socialising, sports, Israel or any number of other things. Our most exciting freshers event was JFEST – a night of live bands, silent disco and, of course, alcohol. These are things that we can all unite together in without denominational differences playing a part.

That does not change the sad fact that JSoc may be seen as Orthodox-centric; nor does it excuse unwelcoming behaviour of any member. There is also a need for Progressive students themselves, to take on responsibility and play a more active role within the society, in the way that Orthodox students have done in Birmingham. By doing so, they can help us make Birmingham JSoc the cross-communal atmosphere we are striving towards.

Daniel Bratt is chair of Birmingham JSoc

Class act at King David Birmingham

Cathy Forman — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:24:40 +0100

Ofsted and Pikuach inspectors have described KIng David Primary as a good school.

The Ofsted inspectors found that the school, which serves a culturally diverse community, is under a leadership and management that is “firmly focused on improving teaching to make this an outstanding school”.

The Pikuach inspectors reported that the voluntary aided primary — where around 25 per cent of the 246 pupils are Jewish — made “good provision for pupils’ Jewish education”. They also noted that the school’s “contribution to community cohesion is outstanding. It is impressive that this school works as such a harmonious community, where Jewish pupils and those from other faiths get on very well together and are eager to extend their knowledge of Judaism.”

Governors’ chair Barry Henley said: “The oustanding community cohesion and academic achievement highlighted in the reports are the result of dedicated teamwork and teaching of the highest standard. The Pikuach inspectors were impressed by the standards achieved in religious education from a Jewish perspective since our pupils come from very varied backgrounds. I congratulate the head, the staff, the pupils and the parents for our rating of good overall, with outstanding achievement by pupils.”

'Idiot Abroad' joins bike challenge to Mongolia

Jennifer Lipman — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:06:33 +0100

A Birmingham businessman is about to set off on the journey of a lifetime to Mongolia to raise money for the children’s heart unit that cared for his late son.

Nick Plotnek, 55, has entered the Mongol Rally, an annual challenge taking participants 10,000 miles across 19 countries, three deserts and five mountain ranges — and through eight time zones. He will have to navigate some poor quality roads in extreme temperatures on a route finishing in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.

His mode of transport will be a small motorbike designed for learner drivers that “you probably wouldn’t even consider going down to the shops on”. He and teammate Kevin Strickland have labelled themselves the “Idiots Abroad”.

The target is to collect at least £12,000 in sponsorship for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where his son Robert was treated before his death nine years ago, shortly after being barmitzvah. The money will help equip a new high dependency unit.

“It’s the Queen’s Jubilee year and as Robert was lucky enough to meet her when she opened the hospital in 1998, I thought it would be a great idea to do something positive in his memory,” Mr Plotnek said.

His main concern was colliding with a yak. “When I was in India in 2007 I hit an elephant on a motorbike and I’ve still got the scars to prove it,” he recalled.

He will be travelling light, but will be taking one special item — “I’d like to lay tefillin in a ger [Mongolian] tent.”

Info centre loses embassy funds

Jonathan Kalmus — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:38:05 +0000

Israel's embassy is withdrawing funding from the UK's longest running Israel information centre.

The Birmingham centre, which works to counteract anti-Israel activity and offers education on Israel at Midlands schools and campuses, will have its funding stopped on March 27.

The centre opened 30 years ago and was the first regional arm of the London embassy. Similar operations were later opened in Manchester and Cardiff. "I can't pretend not to be disappointed," said director Ruth Jacobs.

"I've worked in this job for more than 20 years. I think there is a need for the centre. We are living in a small Jewish community in a very multi-faith city with some radical extremists of all sorts."

Mrs Jacobs wants to keep the centre open and is looking for alternative funding. Activities this month are continuing as planned.

The embassy declined to comment, not wishing to discuss "internal decisions".

Manchester's centre remains unaffected and was this week facilitating meetings between the embassy's cultural affairs counsellor and directors of major theatres and art galleries in the region.