The Jewish community in this country is proud of how it looks after its older and more vulnerable members, and quite rightly so.
All of the communal providers of older people's care, in London and across the country, speak to each other on a regular basis to exchange information and ideas, and the Jewish Leadership Council has co-ordinated communal responses to government consultations on older people's issues.
There are day-centres, synagogue groups and charitable organisations providing meals on wheels. Many people dedicate their time to volunteering and helping others. The importance we place on tzedakah in the community never ceases to amaze me.
Sadly, I don't believe society as a whole has the same attitude. That's why I'm giving my full support to a growing movement.
Millions of people took to the streets last week to oppose changes in the public sector. Schools closed, hospital appointments were cancelled, and volunteers were called in to man our border controls.
This year has been a bad one for older people
Whether you agree or disagree with the motives and the methods, the strikes forced people to turn their attention to the issues that affect public sector workers head on.
At the same time, but far more quietly, another sector of society took the first steps towards making their voices heard. This group of people, which represents 40 per cent of the voting public, has had enough of being ignored by government and society.
I'm talking about older people, the fastest growing demographic in the UK. There are currently 10 million people above the age of 65 and this is projected to almost double to 19 million by the middle of this century.
A coalition of groups representing older people have formed a "grey pride" movement and last week they delivered a petition of 137,000 signatures to Downing Street, calling for a dedicated government minister for the elderly.
The issues that they tackled are broad and reflect the fact that 2011 has been a bad year for older people. Newspaper headlines in recent months have demonstrated tragic examples of a lack of respect for older people in some hospitals and care homes.
Cuts to social care funding and a lack of political will to develop long-term solutions mean that we face a looming crisis, with whole generations facing the prospect of not being able to afford decent care.
Ageism in the workplace often means that the experience of older workers is not valued highly enough. Soaring fuel prices are pushing older people, particularly those who live alone or on fixed incomes, into fuel poverty.
These issues transcend political, cultural and geographic lines, affecting people of all races and religions across the UK. But, unlike the younger generations, older people can't go on strike to raise public awareness. They can't set up camp outside St Paul's.
Unlike the disaffected youth, we won't see older people expressing their anger by
looting their local Foot Locker for a new pair of trainers, or setting fire to the nearby Carpetright. Both frailty and a rather more developed sense of restraint mean rioting isn't an option.
Even the polls offer little hope for making an impact. Older people vote - in higher numbers than other age-groups - but they don't vote as a homogenous block; their votes are split across the traditional party lines of the whole of society. And, even if they could be persuaded to vote together, no party offers a coherent view on the issues that need to be addressed.
In the Jewish community, older people have a voice. We make sure they can live with dignity. At Nightingale, we are introducing a truly innovative model of person-centred care that ensures residents can have control over their own care and their own lives and that they are respected as individuals.
We must push for proper respect to be extended to older people across society. We must push the government to appoint a dedicated minister, someone who can speak with authority and be a true advocate on behalf of all older people.
This should be something everyone can agree on: after all, old age will hopefully come to us all one day.
Leon Smith is the chief executive of Nightingale
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