We are happy to welcome you to the fourth edition of the Kingsbury

Courier.

We wish Mazal Tov to the incoming new Chief Rabbi Ephaim Mirvis

and wish him all success in his new position. At the same time we wish

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and Lady Sacks, a long and happy retirement.

Israel’s 65th Anniversary was celebrated in Trafalgar Square on 2nd June

2013 amidst a huge crowd waving blue and white Israeli flags. Lovely

to meet Kingsbury members there on a bright sunny day.

The Ladies Guild are to be congratulated for their ongoing coffee

mornings and lunches, which have been outstandingly successful,

together with all their hard work in arranging Kiddushim, breakfasts and

suppers for special occasions.

Many thanks to those of you who submitted articles but, of course, we

would like more in the future.

May we respectfully inform you that the price for Pesach or New Year

Greetings in future editions of the Kingsbury Courier will rise from the

longstanding £5 to £7.50p per insert.

We send hearty congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

on the birth of their firstborn Prince George Alexander Louis and wish

much nachas to Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal Family.

We take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Shanah Tovah –

A Happy and Peaceful New Year 5774

Joint Editors: Irene Glausiusz and Leslie Rubner

Rosh Hashanah Message

From Rabbi Cohen

I am writing these

words almost 300

miles from home,

from our regular

summer destination in

the North East of

England, Gateshead

upon Tyne. A number

of the days we have

spent here have had a

reoccurring theme. I

will give you an

example…

We were trekking

along the side of

Hadrian’s Wall, built

to keep the Picts and

Scots out of Roman

occupied England,

enjoying the beautiful

scenery and gorgeous weather when suddenly we were caught in a

torrential downpour. The type that makes you realise that the

waterproofs you brought with just in case are not actually

waterproof! And so we continued on our way, squelching in water

logged shoes drenched to the skin. As we returned to the car and

drove away, of course the sun came out. The theme has been change,

this is England and so we never really know what weather might be

thrown at us.

The subject of change got me thinking. The approaching Yom Tov

has a number of names; Yom haZikaron – The Day of

Remembrance, Yom haDin – The Day of Judgement, Yom Teruah –

the day of Shofar blowing but the one we use most often is Rosh

Hashana – Head of the Year. The Maharal (d.1609) writes that the

word ‘Shana’ – Year relates to the word ‘Shinui’ meaning change,

each year brings with it the potential for change with the coming

year, not just being a repeat of the last.

This helps us understand why Rosh Hashana is placed where it is in

the calendar. If it is an accounting of the past year, then surely the

last day of the year would be more appropriate? Rosh haShana is not

just about the past, it is a time to look back at what we have done in

order to plan the future, to look for ways to change and find ways to

improve our lives.

The Rosh Yeshiva of Sunderland Yeshiva, Rabbi Shamai Zahn,

would often tell his students not to become frustrated with their

perceived lack of progress. He would tell them to imagine the type of

clocks that used to be found in train stations (before everything went

digital!). On some of these huge clocks the minute hand would stand

stationary on each minute and then suddenly shift to the next minute.

On others the hand moves imperceptibly, gradually gliding from one

minute to the next. Some people like to see change of the first type,

sudden and dramatic, but change normally comes about slowly and

gradually.

May we all be blessed with happiness and good health and look for

ways to constantly change and grow in all areas of lives.

On behalf of Rivky, our children and myself, I wish you

ROSH HASHANAH MESSAGE 5774

FROM CHIEF RABBI EPHRAIM MIRVIS

In Jewish tradition, the names we give to places and concepts invariably capture

the essence of what they represent. Our central congregational location for prayer

is no exception.

Located at the heart of

our communities, it has

three well- known

names: beit tefillah,

beit knesset and shul.

Firstly, beit tefillah or

‘house of prayer’. This

title was given by God

to the Temple in

Jerusalem and

continues to be a most

apposite term used to

this day. It expresses

the building’s core

purpose of providing a

place through which we

connect with our

Creator and experience

His presence in a

spiritually rewarding

way. Through our

synagogues facing

Jerusalem, we also

recognise the centrality

of Israel in our lives

Another name is beit

knesset or ‘house of

gathering’. In vogue since ancient times, beit knesset adds a significant dimension

to the role of our synagogues. Indeed, the Greek word synagogue similarly means

‘house of gathering’.

The connotation is clear: our synagogues, especially in the Diaspora, are the

central focal points for Jewish social and cultural interaction for individuals of all

ages and groups of all types. Not only do we enjoy an encounter with God within

its walls; we also engage socially with friends and acquaintances. The weekly

kiddush epitomises the beit knesset, providing an opportunity for us to connect

with others in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It is encounters of this nature

that weave the social fabric of our communities.

The colloquial name for our synagogues - shul - is taken from the German word

meaning ‘school’. Historically, the local school was housed within the synagogue

building. In this spirit, many shuls today have a kindergarten and run a cheder for

children on their premises.

The word ‘shul’ adds a further dimension to our communal vision. Formal and

informal education, for members of all ages and all backgrounds, must be at the

heart of our shared communal experiences. In seeking to guarantee the ongoing

vitality of our congregations, we recognise that an in-depth awareness of our rich

heritage will pave the way for a meaningful and fulfilling Jewish life in the future.

It is my hope and prayer that all our community centres live up to the three names

we give them, becoming outstanding houses of prayer, houses of gathering and

shuls rolled into one. Providing a combined location for communal spirituality, a

meeting place for communal interaction and a home for communal learning will

ensure we have vibrant and dynamic centres of Jewish activity. Building on the

successes of the past we will transform our synagogues into powerhouses of

Jewish religious, social, cultural and educational activity.

I feel very privileged to have been selected to be your Chief Rabbi and I am

looking forward to having a close association with your community and others

throughout the UK & Commonwealth. We are blessed to have such outstanding

rabbis and lay leaders and, together with them, I will be seeking to further enrich

community life.

Valerie and I extend to you all our very best wishes for a happy, healthy, peaceful

and fulfilling New Year. I look forward to working together with you to develop

and grow our local congregations and our wonderful British & Commonwealth

Jewish communities for the benefit of us all and all of Am Yisrael.

Shana tova

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Rosh HaShanah Message from the United

Synagogue

Over 60 Synagogues are part of the United

Synagogue family, each with its own unique

profile but all adhering to an authentic,

inclusive and modern Judaism. We are

immensely proud of all our communities’

eagerness to provide educational, social and

cultural programming for their members, as

well as running Shabbat services. None of

these initiatives would be possible

without our dedicated team of

fantastic Rabbonim,

Rebbetzens, lay leaders, Tribe

youth directors,

administrators and all other

staff members and

volunteers.

Many communities have

travelled to Israel and Poland on successful heritage trips, organised in partnership

with the Living & Learning department. We are delighted to support communities

in arranging these fantastic tours for adults throughout the year. Closer to home,

three of our communities hosted their own Shabbatons, away from home. Over

350 US members took part in these Shabbat experiences, hosted by Stanmore &

Canons Park, South Hampstead and HGSS. The Shabbatonim were a first for the

US Living & Learning Department who jointly organised the weekends with the

local Rabbonim and Tribe. Everyone had an amazing time sharing a unique

Shabbat experience.

All community trips, regardless of whether they are held in the UK or abroad, are

not only educational; they are an excellent way to strengthen community bonds in

a more informal setting. If your community is interested in organising a

Shabbaton away from home or a heritage trip, please contact our wonderful

events co-ordinator, Nomi Goldberg (ngoldberg@theus.org.uk).

The United Synagogue is proud to be a Zionist organisation. We encouraged our

communities to take part in the Closer to Israel parade, celebrating 65 years since

the establishment of the State of Israel. Our bus was proudly decorated with

Israeli flags and it was great to see so many of you out in support.

We have been delighted to welcome this year both Highams Park & Chingford

and the Wanstead & Woodford communities who both voted overwhelmingly in

favour of becoming full US member

communities. Additionally, we were also

thrilled to announce that Hadley Wood

has become a full member of The US.

We are looking forward to working with

these new communities, to help them

grow as vibrant centres of Jewish life.

Times are changing too for the entire

Jewish community as our esteemed Chief

Rabbi, Lord Sacks, begins the next stage

in his illustrious rabbinical career.

Almost 2,000 attended our farewell event

for Lord Sacks, titled “Our Journey with

The Chief… which included a fascinating

live conversation between Lord Sacks

and Sir David Frost. The evening was an

opportunity for our members to thank the

Chief Rabbi for the tremendous impact

that he has had on British Society, and on

the United Synagogue in particular. We

wish him and Lady Elaine all the very

best for the future.

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the tenure of our new Chief Rabbi, Rabbi

Ephraim Mirvis. Since the announcement of his appointment, we have established

a healthy working relationship with Rabbi Mirvis, with regular meetings to update

him on the fantastic work of the United Synagogue and to discuss future

strategies. We look forward to working very closely with Rabbi Mirvis. He is

truly an outstanding Rabbi, and will grace the position of Chief Rabbi.

We wish all of our members a happy, healthy and meaningful New Year.

Kingsbury Synagogue Ladies' Guild

I just want to up-date everyone - including the people who are unable to attend

shul, or our functions.

In May we had a

breakfast to celebrate

Yom Yerushalaim,

and our guest

speaker was Rabbi

Hool, who spoke

about his experiences

in Israel during the

Six-Day War. To

celebrate Israel's

65th Anniversary, we

held a supper on a

Sunday evening in

June and our guest

speaker was Rabbi

Jonathan Roodyn.

Once a month, we

hold a coffee morning on a Monday. We have someone speaking for about 15

minutes on a subject of their choice. We have also introduced a current affairs

programme, discusing articles from the Sunday papers.

In June, instead of a coffee morning, we had a luncheon which was very well

received. Our next luncheon will be held in November.

We have a weekly Kiddush on Shabbos and for Shavuos, we had a kiddush with a

difference on both days - we gave hot drinks, which was greatly appreciated.

If anyone would like to come to any of our events, or find out more about them,

please contact either:

Sharon Linderman - Chairlady:

sharonlinderman@msn.com

tel: 0208 204 8051

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Sharon Linderman - Chairlady

Cynthia Jacobs –Treasurer:

harvcynjacobs@btinternet.com

tel: 0208 205 1310

KKW5

KKW5 meet on Monday evenings at Kingsbury, Kenton or Wembley

Shuls, with very interesting speakers. In June, Lt. Col. Gruber of the

IDF spoke. Also in June, a talk was given by Rev. Malcolm

Weisman.

We always finish with a Grand Quiz at the end of the term in July.

If anyone is interested or would like to know more, please contact:

Sharon Linderman, e-mail: sharonlinderman@msn.com

Tel: 0208 204 8051

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Sharon Linderman

The Shul, together with the Kingsbury Synagogue Ladies' Guild, is to

hold a Tribute Breakfast in memory of Helen Drucker z'l on Sunday

13th

October 2013. Those needing any more information, or who

would like to attend, please contact me.

Tel: 0208 204 8051 or e-mail: sharonlinderman@msn.com

Sharon Linderman

Chairlady

On the 08/08/2013, Coffee morning

Irene Glausiusz spoke on the history of

the Association of Jewish Friendship

Clubs.

On the 14/03/2013, Joan Fish talked

about the wonderful times she spent

running the Kingsbury Kindergarten.

On 29/04/2013, Hazel Kay of the Jewish

Blind and Disabled talked about her work.

On 15/05/2013, Yom Yerushalayim, the

guest speaker, our emeritus Rabbi M.

Hool, remembered his times in Jerusalem

straight after the Six Day War.

On 13/05/2013, there was a “What

the Papers Say” coffee morning.

03/06/2013, a luncheon was organised

by the Ladies Guild.

On 16/06/2013. a dinner was organised by

the Ladies Guild to commemorate the 65th

year of Israel’s independence with Rabbi

Jonathan Roodyn as guest speaker.

On 01/07/2013, Martin Robinson

enlightened us on the dangers of

fraud.

On 07/07/2013, our Rabbi Tzvi Cohen

was honoured with the Alumni Award

by the Edgware Torah Centre.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A MESHUMED

By Bennett Teff

It was in the spring of 1938 that I first met the Rev Erskine Blackburn.

The occasion was a meeting of the Aberdeen Refugee Committee, which I

was attending as a representative of the local Hebrew Congregation - while

Rev Blackburn was there in the capacity of a prominent Churchman who

was sympathetic to the Jewish cause. He was burning with indignation

against the Nazis and promised active support in the work of rescuing

Jewish victims and finding them homes amongst his flock.

After the meeting, he approached me to say how interested he was in

Judaism, and how, during his student days at Glasgow University, he made

many Jewish friends, keeping up his contacts even to this day. Soon he

was asking me to his home and he took the initiative in arranging public

meetings to enlist support and raise funds for refugees.

One day Rev Blackburn phoned to say he would like me to come along to

a special meeting at his church, to hear an address by a converted Jew, a

Rev Heinz Leuner, formerly from Vienna. My curiosity was aroused and I

decided to accept the invitation. In due course, I found myself, in common

with seven or eight hundred others, listening, spellbound as Rev Leuner

unfolded his story from the pulpit. Heinz was a colourful type, with a least

57 varieties of personality and had the gift of impassioned oratory which

made it unthinkable to question the truth of his statements. He told how he

was a successful journalist in Vienna, son of a prosperous Orthodox Jewish

family, when the Nazis overran Austria. Within a few weeks, he had been

dismissed from his post, and his family were robbed of all their

possessions. They were in dire straits, with the shadow of the Gestapo

looming in the background. His spirits had sunk to zero, when a miracle

happened. He suddenly saw the light; a spiritual revolution took place

inside him. Henceforth he must go out and preach the gospel. As if by

magic all his troubles disappeared. He related how his parents on hearing

of his apostasy had mourned for him, as for a dead son, and how he was

completely ostracised by all his former friends.

With the help of an evangelical organisation, he was enabled to escape

from Austria and eventually reached this country, where he was fulfilling

his mission to proclaim “the truth” as a Minister in Glasgow.

As he concluded a hush fell on the audience and I could see he had made a

great impression. My acquaintance, Rev. Blackburn excelled himself in

moving the Vote of Thanks. I was just leaving the hall when my

neighbour turned to me to say how very much he had enjoyed the evening.

He added “It just goes to show what a wonderful change comes over a Jew

when he turns Christian”. Out of an audience of 800 he had to pick on

me!

Footnote: The late Bennett Teff was Honorary Secretary of (the now

defunct) Hounslow Synagogue. He and his family lived in Aberdeen from

around 1934-1950 before returning to London when Bennett worked as a

Customs’ Officer at London Heathrow Airport.

Reprinted with kind permission from Mr Teff’s daughter, Ruth Fletcher.

A Blast from the Past

By Leslie Rubner

Some time ago, Kingsbury Synagogue member, Michael Barnett, lent me a book

comprising a collection of old letters and postcards of Jewish interest from all over the

world. I scanned some of it into my computer and forgot all about it. Recently I was

searching for photos

of my grandparents’

tombstones, when I

came across these

late 19th

or early

20th

century

postcards from my

native land,

Hungary.

It was customary to

sell entrance tickets

for the High

Holiday services,

without which you

were not allowed to

enter for prayers;

the ticket pictured is

from the north

Hungarian town of

Miskolc, dated

September 1941,

issued by the local orthodox community to a Helen Krausz. Her seat was situated in the

upper class, third row on the right side, seat number ten. The cost of the ticket was 15

pengös with 5 pengös tax. (This amount was a high price to pay.)

There are two postcards depicting the famous Dohany Street Synagogue, built from 1854

to 1859, the world’s second largest. One is showing a view of it from Karoly Boulevard

from c.1900 and the other is postmarked 20 July 1892.

There is a postcard sent from Munkacs, my mother’s birthplace, depicting a group of

Hassidim. The sender is wishing happy celebrations and promising the sender to be with

the recipient on the 20th

.

The New Year card is printed in Hebrew, German and Hungarian. The inscription being in

German is beyond me.

Amir’s Makolet By Irene Glausiusz

Amir’s makolet (shop) is located in a porta-cabin within the settlement of

Revava, which is not far from the town of Ariel. Inside he sells everything

and then some, the equivalent of a convenience store.

One enters to find the proprietor sitting behind a desk, where his customers

dump all manner of goods which they are in the process of buying

(although he did acquire two supermarket baskets, but nobody uses them).

Amir enters the clients’ bills on a computer and most pay monthly.

Nothing has a price stamp, but it seems that Amir has a phenomenal

memory and knows the cost of hundreds of items. Of course he might just

be conjuring the amount out of thin air. Nobody seems to complain about

his somewhat arbitrary system.

You could be fortunate and find what you want, but his stock is arranged in

a haphazard fashion. No doubt the regulars know where to look. A visitor

might want Nescafe. Amir will insist that the Elite coffee on display is the

same. If luck holds, you may find the last jar of Nescafe tucked behind his

stock of chocolate. Need a bottle of wine for Shabbat? He has quite a

varied range on a shelf close to the floor and just to impress, these are

covered with a liberal sprinkling of dust.

Should you need an item from the freezer, you might just need a

sledgehammer. The packets at the top seem not quite frozen and try

digging a little deeper, it may well remind you of the North Pole – frozen

solid. Could something liquid have melted and then been re-frozen?

Anyhow, being a busy bloke, Amir hasn’t had time to tackle the

‘mammoth’ job of emptying and defrosting the cabinet.

Looking in the dairy section is a bit of a gamble and it’s wise to check sell-

by dates. Some tubs of Cottage Cheese may be OK, others a bit past it?

Outside the shop, there are piles of cartons. Some contain tomatoes or

cucumbers, while others could be boxes of luscious grapes. At times the

sun is beating down - it could be 90 degrees in the shade, and the fruit and

veg are in the process of being cooked but Amir needs some assistance to

shlep the goods inside. Sometimes, one of the local lads will oblige for a

small consideration.

Friday is Amir’s busiest day. Then the cakes and challas are fresh, never

mind the fact that everyone turns them over to select whatever they fancy.

Health and Safety Rules? Never heard of it. Item not in stock? There

must be some similar alternative. Anyway it’s not as if the locals can shop

around – the makolet has no competitor. A customer may consider driving

to the supermarket in Ariel but then thinks of the saving in time and petrol

plus there’s the feel-good-factor that comes by patronising the local outlet.

An Ode to Yerushalayim – Message for our time

Free translation of Psalm 48 - Monday’s Song, by Rev Gershon Glausiusz

1) A song composed by the Levites of the family of Korach

2) Hashem is magnificent and exceedingly praised in the City of our

G-d, His holy mountain.

3) Of beautiful vistas, the joy of all the lands, Mount Zion, at the edge

of the north of Israel, the capital city of the ultimate King of the

multitudes of peoples.

4) In its palatial buildings, Hashem is known to be supreme

5) Behold though, the jealousy of rulers assembling, passing hostile

resolutions.

6) They see Israel in possession – they wonder how it came about,

they are shocked and panicked.

7) A fear and trembling seizes them, they are overawed, like a woman

in labour.

8) They feel as if overcome by a primeval storm, which breaks the

ships of trade with Europe.

9) As we heard of the events of old, so we see in our own times, in the

city of Hashem of Hosts, in the city of our G-d, may Hashem keep

it well founded and built up forever.

10) We can visualise Your loving kindness to us, Hashem, within its

walls, Your halls of residence.

11) Your praise, Hashem, is like we heard from the days of old,

reaching the ends of earth, Your right bringing justice to the world.

12) Let Mount Tzion rejoice, let its suburbs, surrounding villages and

settlements celebrate in joy, in response to Your laws.

13) Surround Tzion and securely encircle it. Make its towers of

strength count.

14) Set your hearts to become its defensive walls, to enhance its

palaces with defensive peaks, so that you continue to relate to latter

generations.

15) That this is the work of our G-d, who is forever our G-d and he

will be the guide of our ways, undying and forever.

A Saturday Night Out with a Difference By Harvey Jacobs

During 1968 Sammy Rothstein and I were the

group leaders of South London Jewish Voluntary

Service (JYVS). The group consisted of young

people from the age of nine to about 25. Most of

our voluntary work involved elderly or less

mobile people, and could be anything from

visiting for a chat and a cuppa, to gardening,

painting and tidying their house.

In the December of that year I received a phone

call from a group that ran a soup run in the West End and South Bank. They asked if

we had any members who would be able to help over the holiday period. Sammy and

I discussed the matter and then brought the idea to a group meeting.

The plan was to go out on Saturday night and distribute soup and bread to down and

outs. Needless to say, everyone in the group was keen to go. We made the decision

that no one under 16 would be allowed to take part. Only the oldest 4 or 5 of the

group, together with Sammy and I would participate in the first soup run, and we

would go in 2 cars.

At last the day we were awaiting arrived. We met at about 10.30 in the evening and

drove up to town where we were to meet the crew who went out at night.

We were briefed on what to do and how to behave. We were advised not to give any

money to any of the clients, as the main priority for many of them was to buy drink.

Perhaps more important than the soup was to talk to the many people who were

sleeping rough, as during the day they had very little interaction with the public -

except when begging for money.

Next there was the soup to make, which consisted of meat off cuts and vegetables

scrounged from butchers, greengrocers and bakers. We then had to pour the soup

from the large pots on the hob into urns and load the urns on to the van they used.

We started off in convoy, our two cars following the van, our first stop being by the

entrance to one of the small parks on the Embankment. It was surprising how many

down and outs there were in the area and we had about 40 who came for soup and a

chat.

After about half an hour, it was on to the next stop, south of the river on a bomb site

(we still had them in 1968) near County Hall. A group of men were gathered around a

fire that they had built and were drinking a variety of drinks, from beer to gin and

whisky. Talking to this group was an eye-opening experience. Although they were

living rough, they were articulate and chatty. When I asked how they managed to get

hold of the drinks they told me that they had two alternatives, either to go into an off-

licence and steal them, many wore long coats with poachers pockets inside, they

would drape the coat over some of the bottles on display and appear to be looking to

choose a bottle, but meanwhile secreting a bottle or two inside the coat. The second

method was more honest! They would beg for money on the streets. I laughed and

said they surely couldn’t make much that way and the reply was about £100 per day.

At that time I was earning just over £1500 per year.

Our next stop was the back of one of the hotels in the Aldwych. Here another surprise

awaited us. A group of men were gathered by the hot air vents to keep warm. Then

we saw that they had a drum of methylated spirits. Sharing a ladle they took turns to

drink from it. They were a very jovial bunch and offered us the ladle to have a drink -

we declined of course.

The next place we visited was in Camden Town, just North of Camden Lock. The

area was not then as yuppified as it is now. In a deep shop doorway were three or four

men seated around a very large man who was holding a discussion on the English

language. It turned out that he had been a professor of English in a midlands

university, but had suffered a nervous breakdown when his wife died. Doling out the

soup, we joined the discussion. An interruption occurred when a passer-by stopped

and made fun of the group. The large man stood up, grabbed hold of his tormentor,

picked him up over his head and threw him into the middle of the road.

Our last stop for that night was by the side of King’s Cross station. The group here

was a mixture of men and women. All welcomed the hot soup and hunk of bread,

chatting to us as they drank.

We finally arrived back at base at about 4a.m. We cleaned up and started off home.

At the group meeting after our night out, all who had gone on the soup run enthused

about it and asked me to arrange another one. I contacted the organiser and told him

that my group would like to make a commitment to go regularly on the soup run. We

opted for Saturday night as we had no work or school on the Sundays.

We did the run on a weekly basis for some months when some changes were made in

the way the soup run was organized. We continued doing the soup run under a new

umbrella organisation, St. Mungo, but that is a tale for another time.

Ziba and Sasson Hanouka In conversation with

Irene Glausiusz and Leslie Rübner

Sasson Hanouka was born

on 9th December, 1952 in

Tehran; his mother Iraqi

and father Syrian – his

parents were in fact third

cousins. Both had fled

their native countries for a

safer life in Iran. Sasson

describes life in Tehran in

the era of the Shah as

wonderful for the Jewish

people, a safe haven,

comparable as a city to Los

Angeles. Every facility

was available for the community; numerous synagogues, Jewish schools and

Jewish newspapers (almost like the Jewish Chronicle); Matzot were baked in their

synagogue, and the Seder service was read in Hebrew and translated into Farsi.

Of the dozens of beautiful synagogues in Tehran, Sasson recalled three in

particular - the Sinai, the Ettefaq, where he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, and the

Abrishami Synagogue. His first

language was Arabic but he also

learned Farsi and some French. An

only child, he lived with his parents

in a big house – mother was an

English teacher and father

(incredibly an only son with 10

sisters) was the Manager of the large

luxurious five-star Commodore

Hotel.

Ziba (who has a Kurdish heritage) and Sasson married at the Abrishami

Synagogue in 1980. The officiating Rabbi was the esteemed Haham Yedidia.

Sasson recalled that the Shah was quite pro-

Jewish (although later OPEC was distinctly anti-

Israel). The Shah helped Israel, especially at the

time of the Six-Day War. (In turn, Israel helped

Iran with agriculture and various building

projects.) The Shah wished for good relations

with the USA, but Oil Minister Mohammad

Mosaddeq wanted the oil industry to be

nationalised and staged a revolution against the

Shah. (In the end Mosaddeq was sentenced to be

executed for espionage, but was later reprieved

and he served a 3 year term of imprisonment -

then placed under house arrest for the remainder

of his life.) However, the Shah’s days were

numbered during the American presidency of

Jimmy Carter. With the return of the Ayatollah, everything changed dramatically

for the Jewish community and it was time for the Hanouka family to think of

leaving their home.

The family had no option but to leave Iran, which had to be done illegally, with

no passports available. As Sasson said, “Which would you choose, your

possessions or your life? There was no choice.” Thus their worldly goods, in

other words their wealth, was forfeit. They were able to sell their house for a

fraction of its value, receiving maybe one quarter of its true worth. Large bribes

were handed over to the guides and so they crossed the border into Pakistan. They

managed to pack four suitcases, the contents of which were stolen by the guides

and so they arrived with empty luggage.

The family spent one month

in a decrepit hotel in Karachi

and in March 1985 their

London based uncle arranged

a visa and so they came to

England. Sasson recalled at

the time that Margaret

Thatcher was in power and

she was very sympathetic to

the Iranian refugees. Ziba,

Sasson and children settled

into a small flat in Golders

Green - Sasson reflected on the comparison. They had lived in Tehran in a

“mansion” but again “Do you save lives or possessions?”

Once settled, Sasson obtained work in

Hatton Garden in the jewellery trade. Ziba

went to the Hendon College to improve her

English speaking skills and subsequently

found work at the Beit Yaacov crèche. She

was so successful that she was encouraged

to study for her NVQ2 exams, which she

passed and thus became fully qualified - a

great achievement!

Ziba and Sasson have three children,

Frankie, Valentine and Simon, (who are bi-

lingual in Farsi and English). Their daughter

Valentine is a doctor and they are proud

grand-parents to two grand-children, Noah

Gabriel and Aaron Daniel.

Nowadays, Sasson works in a Harpenden based wholesaler, selling fishing tackle,

and both he and Ziba are fully occupied helping with their young grandchildren.

But what of life in present day Iran? Ziba

and Sasson still have relations in Tehran but

communications are difficult. They feel sure

that phone conversations are monitored, and

are very cautious about saying too much, and

they naturally avoid discussing any political

issues. Their emails cover only mundane

topics.

The story of the Hanouka family is the age

old tale of the wandering Jew, but happily

they have found a safe haven in Britain,

whilst some of their other relatives are

settled in Israel. They joined Kingsbury Shul and Sasson mentioned that he still

uses a Siddur with a Farsi translation. They have rebuilt their lives with an

astonishingly positive outlook, even if they do look back occasionally with some

“rose tinted” feelings of nostalgia.

There were no translations entered to the Competition column.

The Rev. Gershon Glausiusz very kindly translated the poem for

our benefit.

Extinguished Lights

From the poems of Zerach Halevi of Jerusalem,

Copyrights 1967 Mossad HaRav Kook

Free Translation by Rev Gershon Glausiusz

You, O You, the lights of Sabbaths and Festivals enveloped in wonders

Who with modesty were lit by Jewish Mothers in the Diaspora

She spread her hands, poured out her prayers, with warmth and hope filled

emotion

For her husband and her children, to bring in their meagre livelihood.

You lit candles that spread into every cleaned corner of the room sparkles

of light

From the Candlesticks that her hands had polished with affection

They shone bright, reflected in reddish wine of the Kiddush and the

whiteness of the tablecloth,

And from the eyes of lovely children, fountains of sharp wisdom.

You lights that kindled in the mists of generations past, hopes of the future

Why , O Why, precious lights, so suddenly were you extinguished in our

exile

Why these homes of righteousness were destroyed by beastly evil men

And the children of the pious were annihilated in the rusty iron ovens

To honour the Holy Days the synagogues were lit up, thousands of our

lights glowing in them

Placed in candlesticks reflected from the words on the tables and the

ceiling decorations

Waves of multicoloured light, filled with much joy and confidence shone

from the faces of our precious ones

In solemnity, the scattered people of Yisroel united with Divine Master

who dwells in Tzion

Whilst in their mind’s eye they beheld in wonder the vision of our people

redeemed in the land of our life

As the prayers ended, they flocked in their multitudes onto the streets still

charmed by their visions

Then did the lame say, we may flock thus in the city of our prophets.

You the Lights, have you forever ceased from spreading your brightness

Had the sounds of Joy of Shabbat and Festivals been silenced forever in

those habitats

May there appear the Messengers of retribution to repay in kind

To those cruel ones who extinguished those pure lights of Am Yisroel

Slowly, like Nobility, they proceeded to their eternal rests as if clothed in

sanctity

Poor and rich alike, they were ennobled by the rays acquired in life on that

night

Youth flowed along, their hands caressed by their parents

Whilst on their lips graceful tunes of their lives curled upwards.

Their paths were lit by the stars; shafts of Mystic lights guided their route

Come, your tables are set, the candles here issue their lights forever,

With the scent of fine gardens bathed in all manner of brightness from

jewels and windows

And the House of Yisroel was sanctified on their return, with Peace

You, our lights, your shine had died down in the ruins of the Golah,

The darkness hid by those mists covered the ruins of those collapsed

homes.

My HaShem, O My HaShem, please return the remnants that escaped the

ovens to us in their entirety

And here in Israel, light up again the joyful light to shine in full brightness.

The Olympics and Me By Jonathan Brody

I don't remember being at all excited by the announcement in July 2005 that London

had won the battle to host the 2012 Olympics. I definitely had no interest in being one

of the 70,000 volunteers - or Games Makers as they would be called - who would be

recruited to help put on the Games.

However, in mid-2010, we were told that as one

of the sponsoring companies, British Airways

had been allocated 300 Games Maker

positions for its employees. There would

be an internal selection process and those

successful would receive extra annual leave

to cover much of the time. On hearing this, my

altruistic nature kicked in and I decided to

apply.

There was an on-line application form to

complete, after which there was a group

activity during which we were assessed.

After a few weeks I received an email

advising me that I had been successful

that included a code to enter when applying on the London 2012 web-site to indicate

that I had been "nominated" by BA. I later found out that there was a much lower

level of interest from staff than had been anticipated and that, as a result, nearly

everyone who applied was successful.

When applying on the web-site, one could specify the type of role in which one was

interested and the location or locations that one preferred. I said that I would like a

"Sport" role, because I felt that would be my best chance of coming into contact with

competitors, and that I preferred to be in the Olympic Park, because that would mean

I would be at the heart of the Games. Sometime later I received an email inviting me

to an interview. I had been chosen to work in Event Services, which meant I'd be dealing with spectators not competitors. The possible roles within Event Services

were general stewarding, disability assistance, manning an information point and

team leading.

The most memorable thing about the interview was that it was my first visit to the

Excel Centre and my journey on the Docklands Light Railway. The interviewers

were also volunteers and had been given the title Trailblazers. Apart from the

interview itself, there was a chance to look around an exhibition that explained the

various roles, to watch a video presented by Eddie Izzard (the official comedian of the

Games Maker programme) and to have a photo taken for accreditation. There was

also a shop to buy London 2012 merchandise.

Towards the end of the year I received confirmation, advising me that my application

had been succcessful and they'd decided that my talents could be most productively

employed manning an information point in the Olympic Park Command Domain,

which was the open area of the park to which spectators had access, that wasn't part of

any of the sporting venues.

The initial part of the training was on a Sunday afternoon in January i.e. "orientation"

at Wembley Arena. This was a chance for all Games Makers to get together, although

I ended up sitting next to someone who was also going to be on an Information Point

and works for BA. It was intended to get everyone excited about their part in the

Olympics, but it seemed to be designed for people whose idea of intellectual

stimulation was watching Britain's Got Talent or Big Brother. As a result, quite a few

people wanted to resign, especially those who'd travelled from distant parts of the

country, the day after the worst snow of the winter.

On a Sunday in March we had a day's training at a college in Hackney to prepare us

for our role, or it would have done, if the computer system on which we'd be logging

‘lost and found’ property had been working properly and they had any of the short

wave radios we'd be using. Having said that, it was still a vast improvement on the

orientation training.

In May I visited a warehouse near the Olympic Park to collect my uniform and other

equipment, which consisted of a bag, an umbrella, a watch, two pairs of socks, two

shirts, two pairs of trousers, a pair of trainers, two belts, a baseball cap, a jacket, a

travelcard, a water bottle, my accreditation and a guide telling me how to wear the

uniform.

With a month or two to go, my roster was issued. Most of my shifts were 5.30am to

4.00pm. The rest were from 2.00pm to 1.00am. However, because the sport was

normally scheduled to finish long before then, I was always able to leave before

midnight. On a rainy Sunday afternoon less than three weeks before the Games were

due to start (Wimbledon men's final day), I paid my first visit to the Park for venue

training. I was amazed by how much work there appeared to remain to be completed.

Parts of the Park resembled a building site, there were plenty of holes in the footpaths

and roadways and although there weren't many workmen on site, they seemed to be

digging more holes than filling the existing ones.

My first impression of the Park (apart from how wet it looked) was its size. Although

I'd seen the maps, it was a shock to see that it was about 2 miles from one end to the

other and I hoped that I wouldn't be walking across it too often. First of all, there was

a two-hour briefing in the Copper Box, which was used for handball during the

Olympics and goalball during the Paralympics. One of its unintended features was

that the roof appeared to leak during heavy rain. Given that the leak was above the

playing area, I hoped that they'd either fix it or that there wouldn't be any rain during

the Games. We were then given a guided tour of the Park, although because of the

weather they decided to shorten the route.

During the week leading up to the Opening Ceremony, two dress rehearsals were held

in the Stadium. Games Makers and the families of the performers participated in a

draw to win tickets to see the rehearsals. I was one of the successful ones and on the

Monday I left work early to travel to the Park. It wasn't a very good omen that there

were problems on the Jubilee Line that meant I had to take a more tortuous route.

However, I arrived on time and took my seat about a dozen rows from the front about

halfway down the 100 metres track. The flags of all the competing nations were

hanging from the edge of the stadium roof in alphabetical order and immediately

behind me was the flag of Israel.

The rehearsal included the entire Opening Ceremony performance (apart from the

footage of the Queen making her journey from Buckingham Palace to the Stadium by

helicopter and parachute accompanied by James Bond and the Chariots of Fire

footage). Until that point I'd been severely underwhelmed with excitement about the

Games, but after the dress rehearsal I couldn't wait for my first shift.

There were six information points around the park, although after a few days they

decided that one of them was so quiet that there was no point continuing to man it. I

quickly realised that it was worth arriving early enough for a shift to be able to pick

one of the busier information points. Although the early shifts started at 5.30am, the

park didn't open until 7.00am, so there was time for a briefing, to get acquainted with

the people with whom I'd be working (there were usually between two and four of

us), to have a drink and to make sure everything was ready for the public's arrival.

Frequent questions were “Are there any more tickets on sale?”, “Where are the

nearest toilets?”, “Where can I buy sun-screen?”, “Where can I smoke?”, “Where can

we see Wenlock and Mandeville?” (the mascots). A person queried “Where is the

nearest water fountain?” She was standing in a puddle a metre away from it! Among

the less frequent questions were “When will I be able to book for Limmud

Conference?”, “Where can I buy a uniform like yours?” and “I've a spare ticket;

would you like it?”

There were several people who had tickets for another event later in the day in other

parts of the country who wanted to know how long it would take to get there,

including one person who had an hour to get to Manchester. One woman had a young

child who was dressed up as Wenlock and was hoping to meet the mascot in person.

We were also responsible for lost children and vulnerable adults, but luckily there

were not too many of them and it never took more than half-an-hour to reunite them.

The thing that seemed to take up most of our time was dealing with lost property.

Anything that was handed in to us had to be logged on paper and on the computer

before being sealed in a bag. When banknotes were handed in, two of us had to count

them and sign the paperwork. The most popular things for people to lose were front

door keys, most of which had no identifying features. If people wanted to report

something they'd lost, we also had to record it on both paper and the computer. One

woman, who'd won a rowing medal for Britain at a previous Olympic Games, came to

me to report that she'd lost her iPhone.

Because we had one computer for logging the lost property and browsing the web to

answer people's queries, at busy times we'd end up with a large backlog of items to be

entered on the computer. The

advantage of having an

early shift was that one

could leave it for the

people on the late shift

to complete when they

had time.

I was able to use French,

German and Ivrit a few times and

among the people I met, there were

two members of the Palestine Olympic

Committee and I spoke to a few famous people. On several occasions when I was

travelling to or from Stratford in uniform, strangers would smile at me and thank me

for what I was doing.

Contrary to what was reported in the Jewish press, there were tasty kosher meals

supplied by Hermolis for Games Makers.

Being a Games Maker was hard work and I was grateful when the fortnight was over

and not just because my alarm kept going off at 3.30am. However, it was still a great experience to be part of the Olympics!

The Great Escape (With sincere apologies to Hollywood)

By Leslie Rübner

It was a grey Sunday morning on the 4th of November 1956. We were sluggish,

lazy, and slow to rise. Shabbat, the day before, was relaxed and happy. The

uprising of 23 October 1956 had achieved its objectives of ridding Hungary of the

Soviets. My father tuned in to Free Kossuth Radio (the flagship of Hungarian

Radio) for the news. The announcer was repeating a broadcast made by the Prime

Minister Imre Nagy at 5:20am informing the Nation and the wider world that

Soviet troops had attacked the capital, Budapest. I remember thinking: ‘Now or

never, this is the time to leave’. I must have said it aloud, because a swift answer

followed saying: ‘You are definitely not going anywhere!’ I started reasoning

with my father; we both had known what this invasion meant, but he was worried

that the Russians would catch and imprison me. He suggested I go up to a railway

station outside Budapest and return, saying that the Russians had stopped me.

However, should I go ahead, I should make my way to London where his older

brother resided. I arranged with a classmate, Tommy Kramer, to meet early next

morning to try our luck.

Monday morning, the start of a new working week, when normally crowds of

people struggling to find a foothold on the trams or holding on to the bars,

hanging out like bunches of grapes, would make their way to work. But this

Monday morning the streets were deserted. Tommy and I (with goose fat

sandwiches prepared by my mother and wrapped in an old newspaper, addresses

of family in the West and my pair of tefillin) took the tram to the Southern

Railway Station in Buda. From this terminus the trains were leaving toward the

west of Hungary and to Austria. On arrival, we found the ticket offices closed.

Nevertheless, we found a multitude of people trying to board the waiting train for

the border town of Sopron. Hoping for the best, and without a ticket, we

embarked. After a short wait the train began, very slowly, pulling out of the

station. At first, we were moving at a snail’s pace, but in the open country we

gradually picked up speed. After a few hours ride the train stopped suddenly in

the open countryside and some of the passengers climbed down out from the

carriages and proceeded to walk across the muddy fields, sinking ankle deep in

the waterlogged earth. Then the train moved on for a couple of miles and stopped

again. Yet more people disembarked. Then the penny dropped, and at the next

unscheduled stop we too left the train and followed the others. As we entered a

ploughed field our feet sunk deeply into the soggy soft earth which was sticking

to one’s shoes, making them heavy, and when we tried to lift our legs, in order to

move forward, it felt as if the earth was sucking us down. We met a group of three

young people also looking for the border. It turned out that they were Gypsies

from the Lowlands of south eastern Hungary. The five of us, two Jews and three

Gypsies, joined forces in search of a better life on the other side of the border. By

this time, the moonless night enveloped our little group in total darkness and we

lost the other escapees. Luckily, we came upon a farmhouse. One of the Gypsies

knocked on the door. ‘Excuse me’ said he, ‘Could you, please, direct us to the

border?’ The farmer pointed us in the right direction. After a couple of hours of

hard brisk walking, we came across the canal that was the border with Austria.

The bank was cleared of all vegetation and dusted with white chalk to make it

difficult to approach the border unnoticed. Every 50 or so metres there were, now

abandoned, watchtowers. In the distance the silence of the night was shattered by

bursts of machine gun fire, and searchlights were cutting through the darkness.

We decided to look for a bridge or boat to get us across. All we found was a

blown up bridge. I was supposed to be good swimmer, so this puny little canal

should not bar me from my freedom and I waded in. Swimming with shoes on

and fully clothed in freezing temperatures with my little package held in between

my teeth was no easy task, but I managed. When I clambered out on the other

side, in Austria, it must have been about 2am. I followed the road I stumbled onto.

My coat on my back had frozen solid. When I tried to bend the collar of my

overcoat, it just snapped off.

Finally, I reached a village. As I made my way through the dark main street, dogs

on both sides were barking at me, but to my surprise no one came out to

investigate. Obviously, by the time I came, the villagers had become used to

strangers arriving at all hours. Suddenly I saw a house with all the lights ablaze,

so I knocked on the door. When I was let in I saw an old man propped up in bed,

his sombre looking family sitting around him. To one of them, who understood

Hungarian, I told my story. He gave me clean underwear to change into and a cup

of boiling hot coffee and thereafter he took me to the temporary Red Cross shelter

in this village of Pamhagen (Pomogy in Hungarian). Here, finally, I was able to

have a nice hot shower. Very exhausted, I lay down onto the spotlessly clean

camp bed and slept. In the morning, to my surprise, the companions I had left

behind were sitting there, looking bright and cheerful. As it turned out after some

more searching, they found a rowing boat. We stayed in Pamhagen for, I think,

three days. When we left, the old man was still among the living.

Three or four big buses pulled up outside the Red Cross building. We piled in for

the long haul to Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. The Refugee Camp

in Ried was a converted army barracks, set in secluded woods. Somehow we had

lost the Gypsies by then. An official ushered us in to a large hall; around the walls

there were three tier wooden shelves, about 2 metres wide, thickly covered with

fresh straw. In the middle there were trestle tables and benches. The hall was

filled with young men and women, middle-aged people, children and babies. A

vigilante group was formed, the “Camp Police”. Their declared aim was to find

communist elements among the refugees and to “teach them a lesson”. Every

evening, these thugs were coming with stories of how they beat up the

communists. Strangely, most of those so-called communists were Jews and that

had made us eager to leave as soon as allowed. We were locked in for political

and health screening, with armed police guarding all the exits.

I was not abused in the camp, being of similar age to the members of the “Camp

Police”, sporty and well built, so I was accepted. Nevertheless, one could feel the

anti-Semitism in the air, so we decided to escape. We scraped some earth from

under the fence and left. Once out, we had to find our way without speaking

German. We came upon a highway and, according to the road sign, Linz was 82

km away. We started out toward Linz on foot and we came across another

Hungarian refugee camp. As we entered the place, my schoolmate Tommy, who

was not religious at all, told me not to embarrass him by refusing their food.

Worried about anti-Semitic sentiments, he did not want them to realise who we

were. According to Hungarian hospitality, we were offered ham on bread with

some wine to drink. After complaining of a stomach ache, I was given a loaf of

stale bread. They offered us room for the night, a shower in the morning, and we

were on our way. Suddenly a lorry stopped next to us. My companion ran to the

cab and asked the driver in Hungarian, ‘Are you going to Linz?’ Without a word,

he opened the back of the lorry and motioned to us to jump in. Once inside, he

locked us in. After a short time the lorry screeched to a halt and suddenly the door

opened and the driver motioned for us to alight; we had arrived in the capital of

the state of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Linz.

Wandering around town, looking for the British Consulate, I saw suddenly my

girlfriend Erika (a student of the Jewish secondary school two years below me,

and the daughter of my father’s best friend and business partner) in the company

of strangers. She told me that her parents had entrusted her to some relatives from

the provinces and instructed her to try to make her way to Canada, where

members of her family were waiting for her. However, her guardians, after an

ugly anti-Semitic incident at the Ried Camp, where the Camp Police had accused

them of being Communists, and beat them raw, decided to go on aliya rather than

to Canada and she was going with them.

Suddenly I forgot my father’s instructions (to go to London) and I decided to

follow her. We contacted the Jewish Agency in Linz who gave us rail tickets

to Vienna. When there, the Jewish Agency put us in a small hotel, we were given

some spending money and issued with vouchers for clothing from a department

store. I telegraphed both my maternal and paternal uncles in Madrid and London

respectively, informing them that I had succeeded in escaping and that I

was presently staying in Vienna, giving my address. As a result, my mother’s

brother flew in from Madrid and turned up at the hotel. He had forbidden me to

go to Israel and ordered me to wait while he organised the rescue of my family

from Hungary. I did not listen to him. My mind was set to follow Erika. While my

uncle busied himself with rescuing my parents and brothers, I was getting ready

to go on aliya. We were organised into a group of boys and girls and were taken

to the Railway Station where I had a banana, the first of many new flavours I

tasted in quick succession.

The train pulled out and made its way through the beautiful scenery of the Alps

to Italy. My very first sight of the sea was when, on a causeway, the train was

approaching Venice. While there, the Jewish Agency put us up in a third-rate

hotel. The local Jewish youth welcomed us and made us feel at home. They took

us on a sightseeing tour. With no means of communicating, it could not be an

easy task. We saw St Mark’s Square, dominated by the Basilica of San Marco and

the Doge’s Palace. This is where the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Law Courts)

and Procuratie Nuove (New Law Courts) are. We saw the Campanile San Marco

(the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica). To the rear of the Doge’s Palace we set

eyes on the famous Bridge of Sighs; this is the connection to the palace and the

public prisons. Eventually we boarded an Italian ship bound for Haifa. All the

passengers seemed to be Jews heading for Eretz Yisrael. The first port of call

was Piraeus, the Port of Athens. Some of the travellers disembarked to go on a

tour, around the Acropolis in particular and Athens in general. Needless to say

we, the olim, with no passports, could not disembark. The next stop

was Famagusta, the only deep-sea port of the Island of Cyprus; we weighed

anchor way off the coast. The British Authorities, who at that time were

fighting the EOKA lead by Archbishop Makkarios, surrounded the ship with

gunboats; nothing and no one would get off or on the vessel. Our boat carried on

to the last stop, Haifa. As Mount Carmel came into view, most of the passengers

went to the port side to see their land and the land of their ancestors for the very

first time.

The Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls

What goes around, comes around. By Irene Glausiusz

With the end of WW2 in

1945, as an evacuee, I

returned to my family home

in Clapton and re-entered

Millfields Road Primary

School in time to sit the 11-

plus exam - I passed. Of the

four local grammar schools,

my parents felt that Skinners

had to be the number one

choice because two of our

neighbours (former Skinners

pupils) worked in Downing Street – that was enough of a recommendation for my

mother. To her unbounded delight, I was offered a place. Previously a fee-

paying school, with the 1944 Education Act steered through Parliament by

Education Minister Rab Butler, fees were abolished.

What a strange new world. For starters, a uniform had to be bought, at a time

when clothing

coupons were

still in force -

tunic, blouses,

pullover,

plimsolls,

outdoor AND

indoor shoes, a

beret to be worn

at all times in

the street, the

list seemed

endless. Woe

betide any girl

who lost an

item. It ended up in the Pound, a huge wicker basket, containing odd gloves,

shoes, pens, books and any object found lying around. It took a while to rummage

through before finding some long lost treasure and the culprit had to pay a penny

or two fine.

Two-thirds of the girls were Jewish and, dare I say it, they were the brightest –

several achieving the distinction of becoming Head Girl. We had separate Jewish

prayers three days a week conducted by the indefatigable Mrs Rose Lipman who

later became Headmistress of the Clapton Jewish Day School and a Hackney

Borough Councillor. The Hackney Archives, housed in the Rose Lipman

Building at the De Beauvoir Centre, have been named in her honour.

Kosher lunches were available at the adjacent OSE Canteen (now Lubavitch High

School). The best part about having a kosher lunch was escaping from school

confines and after the meal being free to roam around Stamford Hill until

afternoon lessons resumed.

With changes in population in the Stamford Hill area, the school became multi-

ethnic and latterly specialised in Business Studies, Enterprise and ICT. The

numbers expanded and the pupils were being taught inconveniently at two sites,

thus they found a new location and morphed into the Skinners’ Academy opening

in 2010 in the Woodberry Downs area and, shock horror, it became co-

educational! But what of the original listed building in Stamford Hill? It was

acquired by Berkley Homes for redevelopment into luxury flats. When the

housing market took a dive and under local protests ‘that Hackney didn’t need

“luxury” apartments’, Berkeley Homes sold the building to the Satmar

organisation. Now a new

venture, Beis Rochel

d’Satmar Girls’ School, has

opened its doors for those

aged between 2 and 17. So

the original intention of the

Skinners’ Company for the

foundation of a girls’ school

in Stamford Hill, is still

being fulfilled, albeit with a

different focus.

Former Skinners’ pupil Betty Borger meets Prince Charles On 23

rd July 2013, the 75

th Anniversary Reunion of the Kindertransport was held

at JFS which I attended with my son Leonard, in light of the fact that my late

husband Shmuel had arrived in England aged 8 with the Kindertransport

organised by Dr Solomon Schonfeld. I received a letter saying that Prince

Charles was providing a special reception for all the Kinder on the following day

at St James’ Palace, so I took the plunge and replied saying that although my

husband was no longer alive, would it be possible for me to attend in his place? I

didn’t expect a reply but to my absolute amazement and delight, my son and I

were invited.

Next day we went to the Palace and by chance before leaving home, Leonard

picked up a photo album from my grand-daughter Yael’s Bat Mitzvah. After

passing security, I left my handbag in the cloakroom, but took the album with me.

The Palace, of course, was impressive. High ceilings with gold ornamentation –

just like my lounge at home in Stamford Hill, crimson curtains, long windows and

enormous portraits of kings and queens in the three rooms used for the reception.

There were 400 invitees, half of them Kinder, each accompanied by a relative or

companion.

I was in the second room, hemmed in by the guests. Prince Charles was at the

entrance of the room talking to those who caught his attention. His security men

were asking people to move back to make way for the Prince, and suddenly – like

the parting of the Red Sea – I found myself at the front of the newly made

pathway. However, he took nearly an hour to move down the room, greatly

interested in everyone he spoke to. I felt there was little chance for me.

However, as Prince Charles chatted to someone nearby, he glanced at the photo

album I was holding, and he reached towards it. I had it open at the page showing

a photo of Rabbi Dr Schonfeld and another of my husband Shmuel aged 3 years

old. Also snapshots of his family on an outing to Vienna, as well as his parents

who perished in a Riga concentration camp. I explained the relationships and

then introduced my son, whereupon the Prince shook his hand. What an extra-

ordinary experience!

Looking back to the 70th Kindertransport Reunion, when Prince Charles was the

Guest of Honour, he showed great empathy with the plight of the Kinder. He said

he felt “for these young children who arrived in England – without language,

without their parents and with nothing – yet they had made something of

themselves and contributed so much to this country”.

In conclusion, recently I was privileged to meet Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan

Sacks, and I took the opportunity to inform him that I had been at the same school

as his mother – Skinners – of course!

The Kamianets-Podilsky Massacres By Leslie Rübner

In the 19th

and early 20th

century there was a steady immigration of Jews

from neighbouring countries into

Hungary. This immigration increased

between 1939 and 1941 to about 20,000,

mainly from Moravia, Bohemia, Slovakia,

Poland, Germany and other German

occupied European countries. They

comprised people looking for a place of

refuge in the relative safety of Hungary (a

fiercely anti-Semitic country then, just as

nowadays, but not yet genocidal). As

Germany’s ally, Hungary declared war on

the Soviet Union on 27th

June 1941. In the

same year the Hungarian Government

agency, the Office of Aliens’ Control, issued

a decree that all Jews living in Hungary

including northern Transylvania and the

Lower Carpathians (the Ukrainians called this region Trans-Carpathia) had

to establish they were Hungarian, or face expulsion. My mother, with my

father being absent in a forced labour camp in the Ukraine, had to prove

that both she and my father were long standing Hungarians. For her, as she

was from a family of district Rabbis, it was not too difficult; she had

official documents and even a rubber stamp as evidence. My father’s case

was different. My paternal great-grand father Paul Rübner came over from

Silesia in the early or mid-eighteen hundreds and settled in Mezötur in the

Hungarian Lowlands, and from there my grandfather Manó Rübner, as an

early chozer bi’tshuva, escaped to join a yeshiva in the northern town

of Balassagyarmat.

When in the 1940s my mother visited Mezötur looking for evidence of my

father’s Hungarian credentials, she was surprised to find a family of

publicans, totally devoid of Yiddishkeit (there was not even a mezuzah on

the front door). Although my father’s ancestry did not go way back, it was

just about far enough. Had this not been the case, we, as more than 20,000

others who could not document their origin (and, by the way, also some

who could), mostly Polish, Russian and others, would have

been transported across the border to Poland or the Ukraine, more

specifically to the Ukrainian town of Kamianets-Podilsky

(just Kamenets in Yiddish). In preparation for the expulsions, from July

1941 onwards, in Budapest as well as in the provinces, the Hungarian

Police forces carried out arrests of these “stateless” Jews. Many Jewish

communities, especially in the the Lower Carpathian region (then under

Hungarian control), were deported in their entirety. The Hungarians loaded

the Jews into freight cars and transported them to Körösmezö (in

Ukrainian Yasinya), near the prewar border, where they were taken across

to the former Soviet Union. By 10th

August 1941 approximately 14,000

Jews had been deported. The Hungarian authorities transferred another

4,000 later in the same month.

The deportees were received with open arms and the Kamianets-

Podilsky Jewish community shared with them their homes and meagre

rations. Jewish public buildings, including the school and synagogue, were

made available as shelters.

The Germans took over occupation of Kamianets-Podilsky from their

Hungarian allies on the 11th

of July 1941 and as soon as the 20th

July a

ghetto was set up and the Jews from the city and its outlying areas,

including the 18,000 Hungarians plus Jews from Holland, Poland and

Czechoslovakia, were incarcerated.

A Hungarian soldier on 18th

or 19th

August 1941 recorded the following:

“There are several Jews here, especially women, they are in rags, but they

ask for bread wearing jewellery and with their lips painted red. They

would give any money for it. Some count their steps with desperation

shown on their faces; others are crawling on the road collapsed from

exhaustion and hunger. Some others bandage the wounds on their feet with

rags torn from their clothes … The Jewish quarter of the city is full of

Jews, there are many from Budapest among them; they live in unspeakable

and indescribable dirt, they come and go in scanty attire, the streets stink,

unburied bodies are lying in some houses. The water of the Dneister is

infected; here and there corpses are washed out to the bank.”

When at Tarnopol the 10th

Hungarian Hunter Battalion chased some one

thousand Jews across the Dneister River in the direction of Kamianets-

Podilsky, the Einsatzgruppe C, the special unit set up to murder Jews,

drove them back. Because the Hungarians had refused them,

SS Obergruppenfuhrer Friederich Jeckeln, in line with Nazi government

policy, decided to liquidate all the Jews in the area. On the 27th

August the

SS, in conjunction with their allies, the Hungarian Army, began the

massacres. All the Jews in the place were ordered to march in to the nearby

forest.

The Hungarian Army was using Jewish labour battalions, under torture and

deprivation, to do the demeaning, heavy and dangerous jobs. One such

Jewish slave labourer, Gábor Mermelstein, had been told about the killings

by some locals, so he went to see it for himself and this is what he saw:

“We saw hundreds of people undressing there … we were passing a row of

maple trees practically over the mess of naked corpses … suddenly we

glanced at a square shaped ditch, on all four sides of which people were

standing. Hundreds of innocent people were machine-gunned down. I’ll

never forget what I saw and felt; the scared faces, the men, women and

children marching into their own graves without resistance. I felt fear,

outrage and pain simultaneously.”

It took three days to kill 23,600 Jews.

The Einsatzgruppe went around murdering Jews and Communists from the

moment the Germans attacked the Soviet Union; prior to that there had

been the wholesale extermination of Jews in occupied Poland. But this was

the first massive scale massacre committed by the Central Powers.

In January 1942 Hungarian troops, all by themselves, massacred Jews

at Novi Sad, now part of Serbia, but then in Hungary. When you hear

Hungarians arguing that they were innocent bystanders of the Holocaust,

there is plenty of evidence to prove the contrary and you can tell this story

to them.

Many thanks for the Kingsbury

Courier for publishing my

recollections.

Seeing my story in print rolls back

the years- where has all the time

gone?

Best wishes

Joan Fish

Ref: See the Pesach Edition 2013

“Joan Fish in Conversation with

Irene Glausiusz and

Leslie Rubner

We are proud to be members of

the Kingsbury Synagogue. We

have a special respect for Rabbi

Cohen, indeed a perfect

gentleman, who has always

been very helpful.

Thank you for your interest in

our story.

Ziba and Sasson Hanouka

These announcements were found in shul newsletters and bulletins. Even spell check

wouldn't have helped.

Don't let worry kill you. Let your synagogue help.

Join us for our Oneg after services. Prayer and medication to follow. Remember in prayer

the many who are sick of our congregation.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

We are pleased to announce the birth of David Weiss, the sin of Rabbi and Mrs. Abe

Weiss.

On Thursday there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All women wishing to

become Little Mothers, please see the rabbi in his private study.

Rabbi is on vacation. Massages can be given to his secretary.

The Men's Club is warmly invited to the Oneg hosted by Hadassah. Refreshments will be

served for a nominal feel.

Please join us as we show our support for Amy and Rob, who are preparing for the girth

of their first child.

If you enjoy sinning, the choir is looking for you!

Sholom Aleichem called Adam the luckiest man who ever lived – because he had no

shviger.

The visiting rabbi stopped in the middle of his sermon and signalled to the shammes. “In

the second row,” he whispered, “is a man sound asleep. Wake him up”“That’s not fair”

said the shammes. “What do you mean “not fair”? “You put him to sleep; you wake him

up”

19 July 2013, to Harvey Jacobs on his 70

th Birthday

15 July 2013, to Roz and Stephen Phillips on the birth of a

granddaughter, Tova Chaya.

15 July 2013, to Sam and Daniel Phillips on the birth of a daughter, Tova

Chaya.

To Martin Robinson on his 60th

Birthday

03 July 2013 to Michael Barnett on his 80th

birthday

03 July 2013 to Jeanne and Reuven Lavi on the birth of a

granddaughter, Tirtza Rachel.

03 July 2013, to Gabriella and David Berrebi on the birth of a daughter,

Tirtza Rachel

17 June 2013, to Ruth and Wayne Birnbaum on the birth of a

grandson in New York

17 June 2013, to Abigail and Ben Kurzner on the birth of a son in New

York

12 June 2013, to Roz and Stephen Phillips on the engagement of

their daughter Abigail to Zvi Ormonde.

12 June 2013, to Abigail Phillips on her engagement to Zvi Ormonde

07 May 2013, to Ziba and Sasson Hanouka on the birth of a

grandson.

07 May 2013, to Valentine and Jonathan Goldstone on the birth of a son

30 April 2013, to Rosalind and Julian Mann on the birth of a

granddaughter, Bat Chen

30 April 2013, to Stefanie and Daniel Dasa on the birth of a daughter, Bat

Chen

02 April 2013 A great-grandson for Irene and Gershon Glausiusz –

Ori born to Chen and Yechiel Badichi and to their grand-daughter

Menucha Badichi on achieving an MA with Merit in Fashion

Design.

18 March 2013, to Jackie and Michael Roodyn on the birth of a

granddaughter

18 March 2013, to Yael and Rabbi Jonathan Roodyn on the birth of

a daughter

From Rabbi Zvi and Rivky Cohen and family.

Mignonette and Stanley Aarons wish everyone a Kativa V’Chatima Tovah.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year – Cynthia Green and

family.

Pat and Stanley Brody and family in London and Jerusalem wish all our friends in

Kingsbury a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy New Year.

Best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year and Well Over the Fast from Silvia

and Harold Stone and families here and in Israel.

Roz, Stephen and Tammi Phillips together with Rochel, Chagai, Refael Yosef,

Moriah, Uriel Moshe, Chana and Achiya Cohen (Edgware), and Samantha, Daniel,

Shemaya and Tova Phillips (Edgware), and Abigail Phillips (Jerusalem) would like

to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Henry and Sylvia Malnick together with Hannah and Avi Friedwald and Ruth,

Avraham, Dina Malka and Yehoshua Klein wish everyone Shanah Tovah.

Rayner and Michael Barnett and family wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New

Year and Well Over the Fast.

Greta and Lawrence Myers, with Sharon and Roi, Tehilla, Sarah and Moriah

Blumberg, Deborah and Binyamin, Betzalel, Elisheva and Tamar Radomsky, wish

all of their friends and family in Israel and elsewhere, what they wish themselves for

a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Kesiva Vechasima Tovah from Wayne and Ruth with Sami and Doron Birnbaum;

Rabbi Yoni and Elisheva with Nechama, Shimi, Tobi and Sara in Hadley Wood; Dov

and Tehilla with Gavriel, Chaya, Shmuel and Yaacov in Yerushalyim; Ben and Abi

Kurzer with Ahron Eliezer in New York.

New Year wishes and greetings from Jonathan and Mary-Ann Landaw, Jacob,

Raphy, Asher and Rochelle, Yitzi and Rachel, Rachel, Naomi and Wembley.

Julian and Rosalind Mann, together with Stefanie and Daniel Dasa, together with

Shirelle, Itamar Yaacov, and Bat Chen, Rabbi Benjamin Mann, Rabbi Michael and

Chana Mann together with Tuvia Yoseph, Yisroel and Shalom Chaim, wish all the

community a Shonah Tovah.

Irene and Gershon Glausiusz with all their family, wish Rabbi and Mrs Cohen and

all members of the Kingsbury community a Shanah Tovah v’Metukah

Deborah and Leslie Rubner wish a Happy New Year to all members of the

community.

Ruth Aharoni wishes everyone in the Kehillah a Happy New Year and Well Over the

Fast. Good Yomtov!

Reuven, Jeanne and Joseph Lavi and Gabriella, David, Tehillah Shimon, Yonatan

and Tirtza Berrebi wish all the community a Shanah Tovah.

Cynthia and Harvey Jacobs together with their family wish the whole kehillah a very

Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

Ziba and Sasson Hanouka and family wish all the Kehillah a Happy and Peaceful

New Year

Gerald Green, Janice and Ian Donoff and family, wish a Happy and Peaceful New

Year to all their friends in the Kehillah.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year and Well Over the Fast, from

Tony, Della and Vivienne Brown and fiancé Andrew.

Wishing a Happy, Healthy and Sweet New Year to all our family and friends here

and in Israel, from Pat and all the Goodman Family.

Shanah Tova from Simon Levy to all readers.

Doreen and Marcus Mann, together with their family, wish the Kingsbury

Community a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year.

Pamela and Raymond Foreman wish a Happy New Year and Well over the Fast to

the Kingsbury Community.

KKIINNGGSSBBUURRYY SSYYNNAAGGOOGGUUEE Hool Close

Kingsbury Green

London NW9 8XR

Telephone: 020 8204 8089

Email: office.kingsyn@brijnet.org

Rabbi Tzvi Cohen Email: zvicohen@live.com

Honourary Officers

Wardens Harvey Jacobs

Stephen Phillips

Financial Representative Julian Mann

Board of Management Stanley Aarons

Michael Barnett

Wayne Birnbaum

Harold Stone

Richard Shaw

Pat Goodman

Mary Ann Landaw

Sharon Linderman

Board of Deputies Representative Jonathan Brody

Welfare Officer Michael Barnett

Chair Ladies Guild Sharon Linderman