Rabbi launches new attack

OUTSPOKEN CHAREDI rabbi Aharon Bassous has renewed his attack on Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, criticising him for not cancelling a lecture series on Christianity.

Rabbi Bassous, head of a Sephardi synagogue in Golders Green affiliated to the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, last year accused Rabbi Mirvis of “selling the United Synagogue to the Reform” by not condemning LGBT activities at the JW3 centre in London.

In a lecture before Shavout — which was posted on website torahanytime.com — Rabbi Bassous said he and a number of rabbis had written to the Chief Rabbi, saying “teachings about Jesus and the church have absolutely no place” at the London School of Jewish Studies.

Rabbi Mirvis is president of LSJS.

Everyone was “in shock”

Rabbi Aharon Bassous about the series, Rabbi Bassous said. “No one can understand it — what is the purpose?”

He said a reply from the Office of the Chief Rabbi (OCR) maintained it was inappropriate for him to communicate with the office until he had apologised for his previous remarks about Rabbi Mirvis.

Rabbi Bassous was exercised about the timing of the lectures, titled A Jewish Guide to Christianity, which began during the period of the counting of the Omer preceding Shavuot. Asking what did Jews need to know about Christianity, he quoted the memorial prayer said for victims of the Crusades, which calls on God to “take revenge” for the martyrs.

But instead, Rabbi Bassous said, “we go without shame and we teach about Christianity”. A spokesman for the OCR said: “We wouldn’t wish to dignify this with a response.”

GEFILTEFEST, EUROPE’S biggest Jewish food festival, hopes to return in 2019, its trustees have said.

The JC revealed last week that the event would not take place this summer due to financial difficulties.

But in a joint statement this week, trustees Jonathan Teacher and Orna Joseph said: “The trustees decided to take some time out to focus on keeping the festival fresh and relevant for the community and how it could continue to work within ever constrained resources.”

Organising an event for this year while raising funds proved too much.

“The natural conclusion was to take time — a shmittah year if you like — as a period of refocus and renewal. That process is underway. More resources would always be welcome, allowing the charity to do more. However, Gefiltefest is proud to have such supportive backers as well as partner organisations in the community such as JW3.”