Quizzed on tenth birthday
IT WAS a perfect ten for MyIsrael as the charity celebrated its tenth birthday with a ten-themed quiz for a full house of more than 250 at Mill Hill Synagogue.
During the decade it has raised in excess of £4 million for what founder Danni Franks described as “the low budget, under-the-radar charities” dealing with issues such as unemployment and poverty.
In keeping with the focus of the event, the £40,000-plus generated will benefit ten MyIsrael causes.
These include 50 counselling sessions from the Maslan organisation for rape victims; five scholarships for nursing and social care students (the Forgotten People Fund); 60 pairs of prescription glasses for those in need (Re-Specs); and ten grants for women with breast cancer (the Lemonade Fund).
The anniversary celebrations will continue with the launch of a new website in the summer and a trek in Israel in October.
NINETEEN PEOPLE participated in a four-day trip to the Somme and Arras areas of the Western Front as part of the We Were There Too project, documenting the contribution of London Jews during the First World War.
In bitterly cold conditions, the group, led by project historian Paula Kitching, visited cemeteries where Jewish servicemen from Britain are buried. Stars of David were planted by Jewish graves.
At Gommecourt, project volunteer Lola Fraser laid a wreath on the grave of her great-uncle Joseph Josephs.
“We knew nothing about him before, not even his proper name, and only found a grainy photo,” she said. “But owing to the research for We Were There Too — and this visit —he has become a real person.”
Seeing his grave had been “hugely emotional, particularly when I discovered his name, written in Hebrew, was not just Joseph but Abraham Joseph — and that my father, his sister’s son, had been named Abraham [Aubrey] after him”.
The group also visited Fricourt German Cemetery, where Jews who fought for Germany are buried.