A festival reborn
More young people and a new emphasis on Sephardi and Mizrachi culture boost this year’s Limmud
THOUSANDS OF festival-goers walked through Limmud’s doors this week as organisers hailed the increased participation of young Jews at this year’s event.
The festival — which ran from December 23 - 27 — also promised to put a greater emphasis on Sephardi and Mizrachi culture.
Elliot Jebreel, the festival’s joint programming chair, whose parents and elder sister were born in Iran, said it represented an effort to “redress the balance” with the dominant Ashkenazi culture.
More than 2,000 people descended on Birmingham on the first day alone. A further 500 were due later.
Highlights of the opening sessions included talks by Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, and Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem.
Dana International, the Israeli 1998 Eurovision winner, also made an appearance, returning to the scene of her triumph.
Jonathan Robinson, the chairman of Limmud, said of the first day: “It was incredible to see the people streaming into the venue. The day couldn’t have gone more smoothly, with over 100 sessions presented, and a thriving, energetic atmosphere.
“The large contingent of young volunteers was evident too. It’s amazing to have over 200 this year — one of the highest numbers in Limmud Festival history.”
On Sunday evening, festival-goers were invited onstage to recount embarrassing stories of first dates for ‘How Not to Date’, a playful event compèred by Joey Leskin, which used the format of a talk show.
Comedian Rachel Creeger also performed a new show, ‘It’s No Job For A Nice Jewish Girl’, while attendees were also treated to a live set by US singer Jacob “Spike” Kraus.
THE CHAIRMAN of the Jewish Leadership Council has set out the organisation’s plans to strengthen the UK’s Jewish community, including the first ever national conference of Jewish care homes, as well as key initiatives in the areas of education and mental health.
Speaking at the Limmud Festival on Sunday, Jonathan Goldstein described four key areas — education, elderly care, young people’s mental health and financial sustainability — which the umbrella organisation had identified as “the biggest issues we have to address to ensure the continuing vibrancy of the Anglo-Jewish community”.
Citing an Elderly Care Commission report produced by management consultancy McKinsey, Mr Goldstein pointed out that in 2016, 14 out of 21 Jewish elderly care homes around the country were in deficit, with the aggregate deficit being approximately £3 million. By 2022, he went on to highlight, 17 out of those 21 are projected to be in deficit.
In response, Mr Goldstein said that “the first ever national care conference of Jewish homes” would take place on January 22, in Birmingham, and that most Jewish care homes from around the country would be represented.
“The old saying that a problem shared is a problem halved could not be truer than when you sit organisations around the table”, he said.
In terms of education, the JLC intends to roll out a new curriculum to certain Jewish schools next September, for students in year eight and year nine, focusing on Jewish educational elements which it feels have been neglected.
“This [issue] was brought to me by the last two Israeli ambassadors in London,” Mr Goldstein said. “They said to me, ‘We went around the schools and we talked to them about modern Israeli and Jewish history in the context of the formation of Israel — they don’t seem to know their stuff.’ How can they possibly be equipped on campus if they don’t leave their schools knowing the basics?”
Another major issue which Mr Goldstein said he had been approached about many times since becoming chairman of the JLC 18 months ago was young people’s mental health.
“I think we all know that our teenagers are in distress”, he said.
“There have been two suicides at Jewish schools in the last two and a half years. If you speak to Dr Mark Berelowitz [Clinical Lead for child and adolescent mental health services] at the Royal Free Hospital – our main consultant on this, he’ll tell you it’s not just Jews in north London, this is an epidemic amongst young Jewish children.”
The JLC has raised approximately £300,000 to fund a three-year pilot programme “appointing wellbeing practitioners within schools, monitored by professionals, to try and see what should occur in schools early to identify these problems.”
Finally, the JLC chair discussed financial sustainability, telling the audience frankly that he believed “we’ve got too many charities.
“We’re raising £90 million a year from private donations, trusts and individuals — that’s a huge amount of money. Yet I know there’s duplication all over the community.
“Ultimately, over the course of the next ten years, I bet you that of the 35 organisations [which are part of the JLC] five to seven of them will have merged together.”
We all know our teenagers are in distress’