Virus continues to rip through community
AT LEAST 115 Jewish people in Britain had died from coronavirus as of Monday evening, according to figures from the Board of Deputies — up from 85 announced on Friday.
The Board’s statistics are compiled from details provided by seven Jewish burial societies where the death certificate records Covid-19.
These cover both deaths in hospital and in the wider community.
Among the dead was one of the community’s most prolific philanthropists, Irving Carter, who passed away aged 76.
Mr Carter was a successful property developer and used his family’s foundation, the Locker Foundation, as a vehicle to donate to charities and causes from across the community.
Magen David Adom, the Israeli medical emergency service, was a favourite charity of his.
Mr Carter was a Vice President of Magen David Adom UK and an honorary member on the board of Magen David Adom in Israel, the only time such an honour has been bestowed on an individual outside Israel.
“He loved MDA. He loved the idea of being able to save lives,” said Daniel Burger, the chief executive of Magen David Adom UK. “His love of humanity and helping where he could touched me... he would always try and help whoever he could.”
Mr Carter was also intimately involved with other Jewish charities, such as Tikva, which cares for Jewish children in Ukraine, and Chai Cancer Care.
Mr Carter’s shiva was held over Zoom on Sunday night. He is survived by his wife Gillian, two children and two stepchildren.
Another Covid-19 victim was Rabbi Osher Yaakov Westheim, one of Manchester’s most senior rabbis and a world-respected authority on kashrut.
Rabbi Westheim, who was 71, joined the Manchester Beth Din in 1976, where he headed the kashrut department.
He was regularly consulted by multinational firms seeking certification, such as Heinz, BP Chemicals, Proctor & Gamble and Cargill.
Manchester Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag paid tribute to Rabbi Westheim, saying: “He was a towering figure in the world of product kashrut, his name a brand and institution all of its own.”
The former chairman of Jewish Care, Michael Goldmeier, has also died from coronavirus. He had been chairman of Jewish Care for almost four decades before he stepped down in 2006.
Mr Goldmeier, 73, passed away in hospital over the weekend.