Interview with Deborah Bull, Former Ballerina and ROH Creative Director

Guest Blog post by Vera Litvin

Image courtesy of the Royal Opera House

Deborah Bull was going to be a ballet dancer “since before she could remember”. Note “was going to be” rather than “wanted” – a reflection of her focus, ambition and determination.

She started out with the Royal Ballet 30 years ago and worked her way up to become principal ballerina. In 2001 she retired from dancing and took an executive position at the Royal Opera House, culminating with her current role as Creative Director. In addition to this, she is a successful writer and broadcaster, with several popular BBC television and radio series under her belt. She is at the LJCC today to promote her fourth book “The Everyday Dancer.”  When I mention this stellar career to her she modestly admits that it’s been “busy.”

For Deborah, dance at its best is “a way of telling stories, exploring emotions, states of mind and relationships between people.” She argues that it is relevant to everyone because these are issues we deal with in our own lives all the time. Deborah Bull grows particularly animated when she describes how dance is central to, well, being human:”It is how we praised our Gods, tried to tame the elements, seduced one another, mourned people, marked the transition from childhood to adulthood. Dance had been central to so many cultures for so long…” When Deborah talks about dance, you can certainly see that passion and the eloquence for which she is famous.   

A vicar’s daughter, Deborah Bull has a strong work ethic. Her favourite word is “rigour”, while her least favourite is “chillax”. She insists that dance is not a “punishing” profession, just “hard work”. “There is a difference” she stresses, explaining that hard work is needed to get the dancer’s body to the necessary level of fitness. Once this level is reached, however, dancing does not mean constant pain, as I had previously supposed. The upside is “a sense of achievement, of using yourself totally and of being able to follow through a childhood dream.”

Her time at the ROH, which is coming to a close soon, has been all about “New art, new artists and new audiences”. She has fought hard to create a “low risk” space in which new choreographers can try out their work. Deborah Bull insists that ballet should never be “safe” and should always be pushing new boundaries. Asked where she sees ballet moving in the future, she answers that people want to be more involved in the performance: “The notion of the sit-on-your-hands spectator is really changing” she says.

Hearing Deborah Bull speak, you are certainly excited to see what will be happening in the world of dance and the arts next. She sees much more “blurring of the boundaries between art forms” in the future.  Her new position as Cultural Partners Director at King’s College London, starting in March 2012, will see her working across all art forms. There is no doubt that her focus and determination will be channeled into creating new “ways of telling stories”. I for one can’t wait to see what this dynamo will do next…

Don’t miss fantastic authors like Deborah Bull at the next Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival: Sunday 9th - Tuesday 11th September.  

Building Work Commences On New Youth Centre in Golders Green

 Guest Blog post by Vera Litvin

Youth Manager Laurence Field at Groundbreaking



Last Thursday, on a cold and blustery day, something special was happening at the LJCC. Our patrons, board members, volunteers and staff, as well as charity heads, journalists and the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, all gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Catherine Lewis Youth Centre.

This 2,500 sq.ft. Youth Wing will be built on the LJCC’s existing site at Golders Green and will house the activities of the Fusion youth programme. Fusion includes activities such as filmmaking, cartooning and cookery for 8-17 year olds and has been steadily outgrowing the capacity of the main building.

Speaking to LJCC Youth Manager Laurence Field about the significance of the Youth Wing, he explained that research has shown that there is a demand in the community for a secure youth space which is unaffiliated. The aim of the Youth Wing is to allow children to enjoy creative skill based activities without promoting any particular one kind of “Jewishness” above others. He also mentioned the importance of having a space which young people could “call home” and have “ownership” of: from having a lounge room to relax in to a screening room in which to show the films they have created.

MP Mike Freer placed his support behind the project and spoke of the importance of instilling confidence in younger members of society through creative activities. LJCC Chairman Michael Marx thanked all the funders who are making the building possible, including, among others, the Catherine Lewis Foundation, the Jewish Youth Fund and Natie Kirsh.   

“We’ve been talking about it for so long, it’s exciting to finally see it happening!” commented LJCC trustee and Kindertransport survivor Joanna Millan as the first clod of earth was being ceremonially turned.

With the aim of having the Youth Wing built and running within a year, this is going to be a very interesting time for youth provision in north London!

To see the latest Fusion activities, click here.

Under Hitler's Nose: Fugitive Jews in Wartime Berlin

Guest Blog post by Vera Litvin

A varied audience turned up to listen to historian Roger Moorhouse discuss “Fugitive Jews in Wartime Berlin” this Tuesday: from regulars to the centre to media students from Belfast. We were all united by one thing: with our comfortable lives in which food, accommodation and legal status are taken for granted it wasn’t easy for us to imagine life as a “non-person” in Nazi Berlin. However, Roger Moorhouse’s engaging and vivid lecturing style quickly drew us into the underground world of Jews who decided to destroy their papers, leave behind their identity and hide in Berlin from 1935 onwards in order to escape deportation to the camps. 

These Jews were known as the “taucher”, literally “divers”, who dove beneath the respectable surface of society and lived on its margins. There were 10-11 thousand “taucher”, of which 1400 survived the war. This means that roughly 1 out of 8 of Jews hiding in Berlin survived, quite a remarkable statistic considering the hardships they had to endure. Going underground was to commit yourself to a life of lying, cheating and stealing. As a “non-person” without documents you were not eligible for any food rations and always in danger of denunciation and being caught by the Gestapo.

Roger expanded on all aspects of the lives of these hidden Jews, from using peroxide to dye their hair an “Aryan” blonde, to the tough decision to become “illegal” in the first place when previously they had been law-abiding citizens. There are many stories of the kindness of German Berliners in helping “taucher”, ranging from those who provided a few nights’ shelter to those who provided documents, allowing Jews to assume new German identities.

Roger Moorhouse

Despite the mental strains, isolation and exhaustion that life an illegal Jew in Berlin must have carried, there are also positive moments in Roger Moorhouse’s account. “I thought our life was a great adventure…it was great fun” remembers one young illegal Jew. Some Jews, like Larry Orbach, who lied and cheated his way across Berlin and later wrote an uplifting memoir about it, found great freedom in a life lived outside the norms of a repressive society. Ultimately, this is a fascinating story of courage, audacity, inventiveness and sheer will to survive on the part of “taucher” and bravery and kindness on the part of those who helped them. 

Other events not to miss at the LJCC: Rex Bloomstein: The Director’s Cut – Confronting the Holocaust at 7.30pm on Thursday 24 November

Book Launch: Fleeing From the Fuhrer at 7.30pm on Monday 5 December

Survivors Speak: Freddie Knoller at 7.30pm on Thursday 8 December

Roger Moorhouse’s book Berlin at War is available here

How do we judge success?

The way we view ourselves is too often affected by how society views us.

Compare the man who lives in a big house, has a well paid job in the city, drives an expensive car, goes on exotic holidays and spends lots of money on leisure activities with another man of the same age, who lives in a two bed roomed flat on the fifth floor of a tower block. He catches the train to work, as he doesn’t have a car, hasn’t been on holiday for years and rarely goes out because he can’t afford it. Who would society initially regard as the most successful?

Sadly, many people judge success solely on what we possess and how much money we earn.  Lower income earners can be made to feel inferior. The very term High Net Worth Individual, suggests that society puts value on prosperity.

However, what of the man in the flat? Perhaps he is a dedicated youth worker, who spends his life helping troubled teenagers to turn their lives around, mentoring them and putting them on the right path. Despite low pay, he finds his job rewarding and fulfilling. He is happy. He has a loving wife and a child on the way. The man who lives in a big house, might work in the city as a bond dealer but find his job unfulfilling, has a failed marriage and is continually looking for satisfaction in the things he can afford to buy. Who should we now consider to be the most successful?

Of course these are extreme examples, tailored to make a point. I’m not suggesting that all bond dealers or wealthy people are unhappy and unfulfilled, nor indeed vice versa, but the point is why doesn’t society judge success on what we do and how we approach life, rather than what we own? And even more importantly, when will we judge our own success on what we do rather than what we own?

We all want to live comfortable lives without financial worries, but that should not mean that we have to sacrifice our personal fulfilment to achieve monetary success.

Saul Djanogly is an interesting case in this respect. He started his career working on the floor of the London Stock Exchange in 1982. He has since practised as a private client stockbroker and investment manager and now runs his own Wealth Management business with a special focus on Values Based Financial Planning. Unusually, he previously trained as a Rabbi and holds a degree in Jewish Studies from London University. So how does he balance his ethical training with commercial success apply these principles to his commercial life?

His answer is simple and does not just apply in business but in life generally. “I am not what I have, but what I give to others.  If I give value in business to my customers and colleagues, then I am successful. Equally, if I give value in business, the money will follow.’

Come and hear Saul Djanogly talk at the LJCC on Thursday December 1^st on the Kabbala of Money.

Four Extraordinary War Heroes at the LJCC

Guest Blog post by Vera Litvin

Yesterday, one day before Remembrance Day, LJCC students had the honour of meeting four very special WWII veterans. They had come to the LJCC to participate in Dr Helen Fry’s “Churchill’s German Army” course. What is it that makes Willy Field, Bill Howard, Geoffrey Perry and Harry Rossney so extraordinary? What makes their story different from that of any other British soldier who fought the Germans? It is the fact that all four men were born in Germany and Austria and fled to Britain to seek refuge from Nazi persecution.

Willy, Bill, Geoffrey and Harry belonged to 10,000 German and Austrian refugees who chose to fight for Britain during the War. Their service was not at first encouraged, and was in fact actively prevented as most of the refugees were interred, and in Willy Field’s case, even deported to Australia in hideous conditions on the infamous “Dunera” vessel. Despite this, there was a burning feeling among these men that this was their War. “The People we were fighting were out to eradicate me” says Bill Howard. “The very simple fact was that the Nazis had to be defeated” adds Harry Rossney, “Coming to England saved my life. I wanted to say thank you”. At first, the only way of showing their commitment to a country in which they were still considered “friendly enemy aliens” was to volunteer for the non-combatant Pioneer Corps.

It was only later on in the War that these men were allowed to enter fighting units. They did this and many saw active service, like Willy Field who fought for 11 months on the frontline and participated in the D-day landing, or Bill Howard who used his German language skills to do top secret work for the Royal Navy. Geoffrey Perry had the distinction of being the man to shoot and arrest the traitor and Nazi propagandist William Joyce, known as Lord Haw Haw, while Harry Rossney carried out the vital work of hand writing signs for the temporary crosses on the graves of fallen soldiers.

Historian Helen Fry says that the impact of these men and others like them is not to be underestimated: “Without their contribution the War would not have been shortened. It’s marvellous that the story is finally coming out”. Our listeners felt the same way, many of them explaining that their fathers too had been in the Pioneer Corps and how grateful they were for this opportunity to find out more about what happened to them. There was a real sense at the event of being able to “touch history” and to honour four extraordinary men.  

Image: L-R Geoffrey Perry, Harry Rossney, Willy Field, Dr Helen Fry, Bill Howard

To hear more exciting and unusual stories from members of “Churchill’s German Army” join Dr Helen Fry and her guests on Thursday 17 and Thursday 24 November at 2.00pm. http://www.ljcc.org.uk/courses/1821-churchill-s-german-army-hope-and-courage.html

Blackberry teenagers

This week, my seventeen year old son’s Blackberry broke. No big deal, we’ll get it fixed I thought, but how wrong was I? After 24 hours he’s been pacing around nervously, looking at the messages he can see are coming through, unable to read them or know who they’re from, and when I told him we would have to send it away to be fixed, his reaction, in my opinion was completely out of proportion with the actual situation.  Taking a Blackberry away these days from a teenager is like putting him in solitary confinement.

Now if you’d said to me two years ago that he would even have a Blackberry, I would have laughed at you, but now, they seem to be the most popular way of teenagers communicating with each other. Forget talking on the phone they are constantly “BBMing” each other (for those of you not in the know that’s Blackberry Messaging) and I have no idea what they are talking about. How can they have anything to say to each other at 8am before school, or on the way home from an evening out, when they’ve just spent four hours together? But they do, and whatever it is, is far more important than anything I might have to say to them.

When I stopped to analyse what annoys me in particular about this, I wondered if maybe it is because when I was younger, I was brought up to believe that whispering in someone else’s company is rude, and in a way, that is what they are doing. You know they’re communicating with someone, but you don’t know what they’re saying and you’re not included in the conversation, so it ends up irritating me and I also begin to wonder, as a parent, what is so secretive?

And what about Facebook, Skype, Myspace, Twitter and all the other online sites in which teens participate constantly, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to switch off and just be themselves, on their own. Their friends are ever present, as are those they don’t necessarily want intruding in their lives.

As parents should we be accepting this new wave of technology as just the new way, and how our children will view the world? In some respects it is a wonderful thing that my son is able to chat with his friend he knew from primary school as he gets his breakfast in England and his friend waits for his teacher to arrive in the class in Spain. Staying in touch with friends from around the world, or even from our past was much harder work when I was younger but to what extent is this new way of communicating, detracting from their face to face social skills and increasingly intruding in family life? What parent of teenagers can honestly say they don’t find it tempting to BBM them in their rooms from downstairs, as it is the most effective way of getting their attention?!

Join us for an interactive evening for mothers and fathers, discussing parenting teenagers of the technology generation.

Sushi, Gefilte fish and being Jewish in Japan

On October 16^th the LJCC will be holding a Family Sushi making workshop, giving the opportunity for families with young teenagers to learn a new skill together. “So what’s Jewish about that?” I hear you ask. “Since when did Sushi become a part of Jewish Culture?” And yet, if you type Kosher Sushi in to Google, your search returns 9,870,000 results.

One such result suggests that perhaps we should consider the possibility that Gefilte fish is a Jewish version of sushi, or maybe even the predecessor of it? After all, Gefilte fish, although cooked, does have the texture of raw fish, is boneless and shaped into a ball, and decorated with carrot.

Or maybe it’s just that in this shrinking world, cultures from across the globe are intermingling, as are its people and particularly as the Diaspora reaches the further flung corners, our culture embraces that of our adopted countries. After all gefilte fish, knishes and cholent all originated from Eastern Europe.

So what of the Jews in Japan? Jews have been living in Japan since at least the 1860s, perhaps much, much longer. The first settler we know of in modern times arrived in Yokohama in 1861, and synagogues were later established in Nagasaki (1889), Kobe (1937), and finally Tokyo (1953). Today there are approximately 2,000 Jews in living in Japan, excluding military personnel. Most reside in the Tokyo area with about 60 percent come from the U.S., 25 percent from Israel, and the rest from all over the world. There are also a handful of Japanese converts.

There are three active Jewish communities in Japan today, one in Kobe and the others in Tokyo including a reform synagogue and they are made up from local residents, business men, and travelers from around the world. One resident, when asked by the JC what it is like being Jewish in Japan replied "The answer depends on my mood. My negative response is that it is rather difficult (especially if you are kosher), since pork is the staple of the Japanese diet, and they also rather like their shellfish. But if I am feeling positive, the answer is that being Jewish in Japan is really not that different to being Jewish in any other place in the world. We have always been a nomadic people - where we go, our Jewish identity follows.”


And perhaps that is why, at the LJCC we see that making Sushi is not such an unusual thing for us to be doing, but we are just embracing the fact that there are Jews living all over the world, managing how they can and incorporating their host country’s culture in to their own.


If you are living in a small Jewish community around the world, or know of anyone we would love to hear your stories and to learn how you incorporate new cultures in to your Jewish customs.

Controversy in Jewish Art

“Artists must continue the conquest of new territory and new taboos"
- Norman Rosenthal, Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, London

New developments, trends and genres in the art world are often started by upcoming artists who explore new ideas and push boundaries. As time has moved on and contemporary art has moved with it, controversy has somehow always managed to keep up. Throughout the last century we can find examples of individual artists or groups who rock the status quo with innovation and often go on to be major contributors to the world of art, such as Picasso or Dali.

The Turner prize has almost become an annual acceptance of controversy in art. It was established in 1984 with the aim of acknowledging and supporting the work of contemporary artists based in the country and the exhibition of work by the short-listed artists and the announcement of the winner often sparks large scale controversy in the media.

Next week, a young and upcoming Jewish artist, Leo Cohen, will be in conversation at the LJCC. Raised in an Orthodox family, Cohen draws on his background to explore the place of homosexuals and lesbians in the Orthodox community. His art has been described as controversial. He has photographed himself tattooed with words from of the Shema and in his work he explores often sensitive topics such as the Holocaust and sexuality in religion.

In exploring these themes, Leo Cohen is pushing the boundaries of art and religion and he will be talking about how his background has influenced his work. He does not set out to be radical and disturbing, but intends to provide his audience with thought engaging works that encompass notions of modernity and social change.

Given the view quoted above by Norman Rosenthal, and based on recent Turner prize winners, controversy in art seems to be a platform from which to launch a successful career in the artistic world. 

We could be seeing a lot more of this artist. Catch him while you can.

Is traditional Jewish cooking under threat of extinction?

Latkes

In March of this year the government introduced a “Responsibility Deal”, a voluntary scheme to encourage healthy living and healthy eating. The deal comprises core commitments for action on food, alcohol, behavioural change, physical activity and health at work. Diet-related illness places a huge burden on the NHS. Direct costs are thought to be over £4bn a year and rising. The deal states: "public health is everyone's business. We aspire to good health and yet we persist in behaviours that undermine it".

As part of the deal, restaurants are being encouraged to clearly display calorie counts for each meal on their menu, so that diners can make informed decisions about their choices. Some restaurants are already doing this, and more and more are being encouraged to introduce it, as it has been met with considerable success already in the States, where consumers are choosing the healthier options. The truth is that having seen this done in a restaurant last week, the actual calorie count was quite shocking and certainly influenced my choice, opting for something that I didn’t really want.

However, the question is, are we being made to feel guilty about one of life’s pleasures? We often go out to a restaurant for a meal for a celebration or special occasion and there are many people who enjoy a special treat, having something they might not ordinarily eat and don’t want to think about the calories. There are of course those who eat unhealthy food all the time and are not concerned how calorific their choices are, and you could argue that these people won’t care whether the calories are marked on the menu or not.

Is this just the thin end of the wedge? Food plays such a large part in Jewish life. On Rosh Hashanah we eat honey cake, on Shavuot we eat cheesecake and blintzes, Friday night we eat chicken and chicken soup, Purim we eat Hamantashen and don’t forget the latkes, bubbalas, kreplach – the list goes on, but none of it jumps out as the healthy option. Are we going to be made to feel guilty about handing down the recipe for these traditional foods to our children? Will these recipes die forever as we are told to use low fat ingredients and don’t deep fry?

Lisa Roukin, a regular cookery workshop teacher at the LJCC thinks not "Just because a recipe uses lower fat ingredients or healthier cooking methods, should not mean that it will be any less delicious and a pleasure to eat. There are lots of recipes that you can use for every day cooking and use for special occasions that are not high in fat, but I still believe that the traditional recipes will continue to be used - they're just too tasty to be forgotten."

Attendance at last year’s Gefiltefest, our celebration of Jewish food, which is now set to become an annual event, illustrates how popular our traditional recipes still are and we don’t think they will be given up easily.

How do you feel about this new introduction into restaurants of calorie counting? Will it make you feel guilty? Do you think it will influence your choices?

Don’t miss Lisa’s next workshop on 25^th September entitled “A Healthy Start to the New Year” featuring delicious and healthy recipes to serve your family for Rosh Hashanah

Diana Athill at the Hampstead & Highgate Literary Festival

By James Spiro

As the audience takes their seat, so does 94-year-old Diana Athill. Poised, composed and confident, she fixes the microphone so that everyone can hear her. There is not an empty seat in the lecture hall – everyone is there to hear her story.

‘Out of all the interviews, this is the one I really fought for’. These words are from Trudy Gold - Executive Director of Education and Holocaust Studies at the London Jewish Cultural Centre which is currently holding a three day Literary Festival with the Ham&High. Her face gleans genuine excitement and respect for the author she is sharing her stage with.

Athill, known for being blunt, knows how to work her crowd. ‘I’ve never planned a book in my life. I don’t know what to write about until I start writing.’ With a career spanning almost 70 years, it becomes clear that the one-hour talk will not be enough time to talk about her life.

Diana Athill was one of the few women to have attended Oxford University in the 1930s. This lead her to a job in publishing with Andre Deutsch, and worked closely with authors such as John Updike, Jean Rhys and Brian Moore. Despite retiring at the age of 75 in 1993, she has continued to work ever since.

‘It keeps the mind young,’ she explains, ‘I find it harder to walk long distances, and I can’t listen to as much music as I could, but my life is just the same.’

The women in the audience are truly inspired. Inspired to write, to publish, to achieve goals they never thought they would or could.

‘Every time I think I can’t do something, I do it anyway. 50% of the time I realise I actually can, so it’s all worth it.’

Her mind seems just as sharp as it has always been. Reading an extract from one of her memoirs, her voice is clear; her style is fluent – she is totally and utterly lost in the life she created. What can a woman with such history claim as her highest achievement?

‘The fact I received an OBE, and have continued to write beyond the age of 80, is something that I thought would have been crazy.’ She says, smiling. ‘But look at me! It was a tremendous surprise, and honour.’

Despite leaving 20 minutes of question time at the end, it becomes clear that it is simply not enough time. One question, asked by a younger member of the audience, ‘are you going to see the new Hollywood film of ‘Jane Eyre’?’

Athill sits back in her seat, exhales, and simply answers, ‘Films of literature almost always make a nonsense of the real thing. It wouldn’t be fair.’

At the age of 94, Diana Athill really is a true inspiration. A woman with a career spanning 70 years, an OBE holder, and a true lady that shows that growing old, does not necessarily mean growing up.

A Reader's Review: The Stranger's Child.

Yesterday the shortlist for this year's Man Booker Prize was announced and Alan Hollinghurst's "The Stranger's Child" has sparked controversy in the literary world, by it's omission from the list, when it was a hot favourite.

Next week, Alan will be discussing his book at the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival, and given that everyone appears to be so amazed that it has not made the shortlist, it might be a good book to read before the festival and make your own judgement.

One reader has written in to us with their own opinion. What's yours?

"The Strangers Child, is a beautifully written novel. It spans the lives of two families from pre World war 1 to the early 21st century and the relationship they have with the poet Cecil Valance and the effect he has on them. It is a multi layered novel with some compelling moments and wry descriptions of both the characters and the lives they are leading.


The main themes of the book are the observed changes in society and culture, especially attitudes towards homosexuality, with both humorous and poignant prose as the reader looks on, on lives lost and lived and the turmoil of some characters who have never been able to live as they would choose to do. The observational style, dialogue and creativity behind this novel means that I am sure it will be a favourite on book lists for many months to come.


The research and detail that Alan Hollinghurst must have undertaken to write this tome is fascinating and I am really looking forward to hearing him in discussion at the Hampstead &Highgate Literary festival at the LJCC next week"


Has anyone else read it and what do you think?

Can you define Judaism?

On a recent visit to the GP with my son, the  Dr asked us where we were from.  My initial reaction was to say London, but we were in London, talking with English accents, so I asked her to clarify what she meant. “You both have such a lot of curly hair” she said, “ I just wondered …..”  My immediate response, as though I’d now understood what she was referring to, was “We’re Jewish”, which seemed to satisfy her, but I came away wondering why it had, as actually I’m not a religious Jew at all and what does curly hair have to do with a religion?

Ask a group of people what does being Jewish mean to them, some will say it is a religion, some a race and some a culture, so which one is it, or is it all three?  The simple answer is that it is not that simple.

Living in the UK in the 21^st Century, many Jews, particularly the younger generation are struggling with their Jewish identity, and we are seeing an increasing rate of assimilation as Jews intermarry or abandon Judaism altogether. Is it that Jews feel if they do not follow the religion, attend synagogue regularly and celebrate the festivals, they can no longer consider themselves Jewish, or is there a cultural element that still helps them to retain their Jewish identity?

From my point of view, I am not religious, do not attend synagogue and increasingly do not celebrate the festivals, but there is still a strong sense of Jewish identity within me which I hope I am passing on to my children. I eat bagels, chopped liver, gefilte fish and kneidlach and I don’t eat bacon.  I feel an affinity with Jewish comedians, artists and actors and love watching programmes such as “Who do You Think you Are?” where someone famous explores their Jewish heritage, and I tell the Dr I’m Jewish, when she asks about my curly hair!

So when I read an article this morning about Punk Jews, a documentary about different groups of Jews, exploring their identities together through cultural activities, I realised that the London Jewish Cultural Centre is doing just that. We provide opportunities for people from all walks of life to explore their Jewish identity and of course, and just as importantly, for non Jewish people to learn more about our heritage.

As the LJCC is independent and inclusive, we welcome Jews and non Jews of all affiliations, recognising that Jewish identity can be explored through culture as well as religion. For such a minority group, a relatively large number of Jewish actors, comedians and artists of all types have enjoyed huge success around the world, contributing to a rich and varied cultural heritage.

The new term starts this week, and we have a very exciting programme of activities lined up for the autumn term covering language, literature, film, art, comedy, music, dance, history and of course the all important food!

Come and explore with us and learn more about what Judaism means to you. How do you define Judaism?

Jewish culture around the world

Synagogue in Bridgetown, Barbados

As the summer draws to a close and thoughts start to return to school, work and winter, I thought it might be interesting to compare some summer travel experiences in relation to Jewish culture.

One evening whilst on holiday in Italy, my family and I found ourselves sharing a table with a family of three women, the grandmother, mother and daughter, who said they were from Los Angeles, a fact that their accents clearly betrayed as not entirely true. As we chatted, it became clear that they were Jewish immigrants from Uzbekistan and they had moved to the United States after the collapse of the Soviet Union.  What was originally intended as a quick supper before heading off for the evening, turned in to an evening of fascinating conversation, hearing first hand what life had been like for the Jews under the Soviet regime, and how their father in particular, a University professor practised Judaism secretly at the same time as being a member of the Communist party, in order to gain a job. They told us how they had to leave the house in the middle of the night to go to the synagogue to get some Matzo for Pesach.

Although we only spent three hours with this family, we came away with a feeling of awe and admiration for them and what they went through to maintain their faith and heritage. Whenever we meet other Jewish people from around the world, there is always an affinity, and a sense of celebration of our shared heritage. Several years ago we arrived at the synagogue in Barbados for a Friday night service.  There are only about 80 Jewish families on Barbados and we were welcomed like one of the family and invited out for a trip to “the best ice cream parlour on the island” after the service.

When we travel, as Jews, we often seek out sites of Jewish heritage, of which there are many fascinating ones around the world, even if our destination is not known for its Jewish history. Some are just remnants of communities that once were and others are wonderful testaments to the survival of our Jewish culture, and I think these experiences remind us of the importance of keeping our heritage alive. Living in England we are fortunate that our Matzo purchases need not be clandestine or dangerous but we should appreciate and celebrate that fact. This autumn we have lined up a wonderful choice of Jewish cultural events here in London, seminars, activities and tours for you to enjoy,  and hope that you will come and join us in our celebration.

We would love to hear of any summer travel experiences you have had, or places you have visited this summer with unexpected and surprising Jewish connections. 

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How does such senseless violence change our world?

How is it that our society can change overnight from a peaceful, law abiding community, to a city that is ransacked by rioters and looters? The images we have seen on television this week have been images that we often see from other countries, where political unrest is common, but we do not expect to be seeing such levels of violence on the streets of London, and acts of violence that appear to be perpetrated by such young people.

I think it is safe to say that most Londoners are in shock this week at the way things can deteriorate so quickly and fear can enter our lives, and all with little apparent political agenda. This week will certainly stick in our memories for a long time and change our perspective on society.

Whilst I’m not wishing to compare what has happened this week in London to the atrocities committed on 9/11, I think the senselessness of both leaves you feeling with a similar disbelief that this is actually happening.

This year sees the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and to commemorate this we will be holding a seminar next week reflecting on Liberty and Freedom in the light of 9/11 and how the world has changed as a result.

Will London be changed as a result of this week?

Will E Books not only kill books as we know them but literary festivals too?

This year, the Evening Standard’s literacy campaign to Get London Reading has received a huge amount of support from celebrities, politicians, commentators, writers and volunteers, with the aim of tackling the growing levels of illiteracy among children.  Reading is not only a vital life skill, but can also provide endless amounts of entertainment, knowledge and pleasure.  But how and where those children read in the future may be very different from any generation to date.

On a recent trip to Cornwall I was visiting the spectacular stately home of Lanhydrock. The long library, houses shelves and shelves of leather bound books and the room is dotted with quotes from various people through the ages. One that caught my eye was

“A house without books is like a room without windows” Horace Mann.

I have to admit there is something very appealing to me about visiting homes and browsing their libraries, whether we are talking about old stately homes or just my friends’ houses, I think that the books on their shelves are a reflection of the person who lives there. They are the window into the soul of the home. But what will be on those shelves in the future?

And what about the great British literary festival? Are they just becoming an excuse for the authors to promote their latest novel, as suggested in an article in the Guardian this week, or are they truly a gathering for literature lovers, celebrating literary achievement? The Hampstead & Highgate Literary Festival, now in its 3rd year, is hosting around 140 authors, journalists and critics next month, none of whom are being paid an appearance fee, and yes, there will be copies of the books to buy, but we believe it is still a great celebration of books and literature. Will they bother when books are just another app or download?

What does the future hold, given that every day we see advertisements on television for the Kindle or its competitors? Will it feel the same when you visit a library with just a row of computers to download the latest novel? More and more independent book sellers are closing their doors and the younger generation are forsaking books for interactive games, films and other, easier, quicker forms of entertainment. So will this be the last generation of books?

Will we see books disappearing and does it matter as long as our literature is carried forward in some other form?