The heroes among us
ing pieces by Giorgio Armani, Celia Birtwell, Ossie Clark, Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent and Bellville Sassoon.
She also donated more than 400 similar items to the Design Museum, of which she is a trustee.
Cathy Ashley has been appointed an OBE for services to Holocaust commemoration and awareness.
She completed two terms as chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the charity that promotes the annual commemoration day and the thousands of events associated with it, from 2010 to 2016. At the end of her tenure, she said: “There has never been a more important time to commemorate the Holocaust and subsequent genocides — it is critical that not only do we not forget, but that we reflect on the consequences of what happens when hatred, discrimination and intolerance are unleashed against sections of our society.”
Professor Malcom Mason has been made an OBE for his contribution to the NHS and cancer research. A member of
Cardiff Reform Synagogue, he has carried out pioneering work on combining radiotherapy and hormone therapy to treat prostate cancer.
Peggy Sherwood has been made an MBE for her 15 years as chair of the Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group (JGLG) up to 2015. The retired paediatric nurse said: “I’m really excited. It came as a total surprise and is a real honour.”
Ms Sherwood, 63, said that the JGLG was “male dominated” when she joined, but under her leadership diversified to include more women and people from the transgender and Charedi community. “I was very proud of that,” she said.
Ashley Tabor, the founder and executive president of media company Global, which owns a host of radio stations, including LBC, Capital FM and Radio X, is appointed an OBE.
Keith Simons was made an MBE for services to Jewish prisoners and to the Jewish community in Pinner, northwest London.
“It’s lovely — a thrill. I came home and saw the envelope marked Cabinet Office and thought, oh no, what have I done. Parking tickets aren’t dealt with by the Cabinet, are they?”
Mr Simons has been on the United Synagogue’s visitation committee, now part of the US Chesed department, since 1988. He visits Jewish prisoners in four jails outside London. “I’ve always been interested in social work, and prisons fascinated me,” he said.
The 71-year-old retired financial adviser has also been involved in the running of Pinner Synagogue since the early 1980s.
Stuart Nagler has been made an MBE for voluntary service in Hertfordshire. A former partner in a Radlett firm of chartered accountants, he has held around 40 different voluntary roles in the county over 50 years.
He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and an assistant police and crime commissioner. He is also a former mayor of Hertsmere.
The 70-year-old, who is a member of Radlett United Synagogue, said he hoped he had shown Jewish people could reach out to others outside the community. He added: “I get so much out of volunteering. My motto is: go on for as long as you can, doing all the good you can, for as many as you can.”
A British Empire Medal been awarded to Iby Knill, a 93-year-old Auschwitz survivor, for her services to Holocaust education and interfaith cohesion.
Born in Czechoslovakia in 1923, Mrs Knill fought in the resistance against the Nazis before settling in Britain after the war. She has written a book, appeared on television and spoken to more than 50,000 young people about her experiences.
She said she was “chuffed” at the award. “You just carry on in your life and do what you consider is appropriate and what you think, but it’s very nice to be recognised.”
Also awarded a BEM for Holocaust education and interfaith cohesion is Sabina Miller, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto.
Born in the Polish capital in 1922, she arrived in Britain after the war having lost her parents in the Holocaust.
Mrs Miller, who has two children, six grandchildren and a great-grandchild, said: “I’m happy I survived and I have achieved a lot. I have beautiful children and lovely people around me”.
Dr Rudi Leavor, a German-Jewish refugee, received a BEM for services to the Jewish community and interfaith relations in Bradford.
Dr Leavor, 91, who fled from his home in Berlin to Britain with his family in 1937, has held a variety of roles at Bradford Synagogue and has spent the past decade as chairman.
He said: “It’s a great honour for me and for the refugee community who have demonstrated that they have contributed to the wellbeing of this country.”
Rachel Ehrentreu has been recog- nised with a BEM for services to the vulnerable and elderly members of the Jewish community in north-west London.
A great-grandmother who turns 84 this month, Mrs Ehrentreu is a chaplain at the Royal Free Hospital and also works for the Chevra Kadisha and an organisation supporting the elderly and Holocaust survivors called Neshei.
She said: “I feel that it’s an honour for the Jewish community and I feel unworthy of it but I’m grateful. Believe me, giving is living and I really enjoy the work.”
Dr Linda Greenwall received the BEM for services to the dental profession.
TWO COMPLETELY contrasting events of the past few days — the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Queen’s birthday honours list — both highlighted to me the broad spectrum of amazing people that make us all collectively better. We’re blessed in our community to be disproportionately over-represented in the recognition stakes. For our number, the roll call of knights, dames, M/O/CBEs and every other conceivable gong out there is staggering.
We punch well above our weight, and not just statistically. Our typical “for services to…” citations usually reference the most stratospheric academic, medical, diplomatic, cultural and philanthropic contributions imaginable.
Within our value system of tikkun olam, it makes sense that these are our talismans. It’s a powerful lesson that not all heroes carry out daring rescues.
But, that said, in the relatively privileged circles many of us tend to operate in, it’s easy to forget that many heroes actually do exactly that, every single day.
Last week, myself and two colleagues were honoured to meet the Green Watch of the Kentish Town Fire Station. After the horrors of Grenfell Tower and the outpouring of love and support for the survivors pulled from the fire, we wanted to do something for those who had run into it to save them.
So we offered a small donation, a handshake of thanks and a listening ear over a cup of tea.
And I’m so glad we did. What exceptional role models they are.
They told us that tragic events like Grenfell serve to put them, fleetingly, into the public consciousness, but, at the same time, “high-rise fires are our bread and butter.”
There was something about the nonchalant “bread and butter” that has played on my mind since. Anyone unfortunate enough to experience one tragedy of this nature would be forever haunted by it. To rush to a dozen a day, risking your life for complete strangers, is unimaginable.
The youngest among them earn £25,000 a year. Subtract the mandatory 13 per cent pension contribution, union subs and welfare fund contribution and it’s little wonder many rely on food banks to feed their families.
Listening to their stories, you can’t help but think: Why on Earth would anyone do this?
But then you have a cuppa with them and it’s immediately crystal clear. They are genuine, bona fide superheroes.
I’m proud to say I’ve worked for, with and alongside some of the members of our community on the honours list.
At the same time, I’m equally ashamed to say that, as far as I can recall, I’ve hardly ever thanked, let alone spoken to any firefighters, police officers or paramedics.
And that’s not right. I’ve lived within a bubble that needs bursting.
Recognition is a wonderful thing. Beyond a show of gratitude, it shines a spotlight on the finest virtues within our society, encouraging all of us to create a better one. Yet you rarely see an emergency worker receiving public acclaim.
Their humility and sense of duty mean they aren’t bothered for a trophy. But just because they’re not looking for it, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it.
By the time we left them, the firemen were thanking us for coming to see them. The fact that the public’s gratitude was such a novelty to them truly saddened me.
So, trust me, if you’re looking to inspire your children with the shining lights performing the most essential tikkun olam, celebrate our communal honourees.
And then seek out these dedicated emergency response heroes and heroines, shake them by the hand, say thank you and realise that the honour is all yours.
Their sense of humility means they aren’t looking for a trophy