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WHAT’S NEW N E W S ’ W H A T “THIS IS A TURNING POINT TO SHOW OUR LIVES MATTER TOO” What is it like to be black and Jewish? A new investigation is aimed at uncovering racial inclusivity in the UK’s Jewish community. Nadine Batchelor-Hunt tells JR why change is badly needed Following the death of George Floyd in the USA and the worldwide protests it triggered, the Jewish community is examining evidence of racism within its own structures. In June, the Board of Deputies for British Jews announced it was launching a commission into racial inclusivity in the community. Activist and journalist Nadine Batchelor-Hunt, who is of Jamaican heritage, says that this should be a wake-up call. “It is hard to be black and feel part of the UK’s Jewish community – which is predominantly Ashkenazi and white. You do stand out: in the synagogue or kosher supermarket people stare or ask, “How Jewish are you?” or “Do you know Hebrew?” I always have to justify my Jewishness. Once I was stopped by security at the synagogue door. They kept asking me where I was from, and if I was Jewish. I told them, “I know I’m black but I am Jewish. Are you going to let me in?” They finally let me in but it was humiliating. I was also bullied online. With my rabbi I reported it to the police as racial abuse. It was traumatic. Across the world there are Yemenite Jews, Mizrachi Jews, Indian Jews, Ethiopian Jews, South American Jews and many others. As the activist April Baskin has said, we are a multi-racial, multicultural community. But in the UK that is Top: Protesters at a demonstration in Parliament Square on 6 June show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement; Nadine Batchelor-Hunt not appreciated. It’s also frustrating that the similarities in history between black and Jewish persecution are not seen as a shared struggle. One problem is that while the community leadership and press were outspoken about antisemitism in the Labour Party, they were silent over racism in the Conservative Party. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called Boris Johnson “the champion of the Jewish community”, but he is not a champion for me or other black Jews. He has a long record of making offensive comments about ethnic minorities, and the Conservatives have a terrible record on racism. But now the leadership seems serious about looking at diversity. I and other Jews of colour are calling for the community’s structures to be more diverse and consultative with minorities. Jewish schools and cheder classes should teach about diversity; there are examples of black Jews in the Torah, which are simply ignored. I hope this new inquiry is a turning point to show that our lives matter.” n nadinebh.wixsite.com/journalist 8 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK JULY 2020 REMEMBERING JAMES LEEK We were shocked and saddened to hear of the death from Covid-19 of one of our long-time supporters, James Leek. JR’s founder Janet Levin remembers an inspiring man It seems no time at all since James Leek arrived at my home on his bicycle to exuberantly reveal his latest proposals for JR. Not only did he generously donate money, he had brilliant ideas for recruiting subscribers. Always cheerful and positive, he most notably gave enormous time and creativity to Wimbledon Synagogue, where he was a lay leader for over 45 years. He also supported numerous causes promoting cooperation, including the New Israel Fund, the local Council of Christians and Jews and the South-West London Israel Forum. Meeting him as a modest and very friendly fellow congregant at kiddushim and post-meeting refreshments at Wimbledon Synagogue, I was surprised to learn that after achieving a Paris MBA, James had a stellar career running corporations in the financial and industrial world. He was as fit as could be, and, as his beloved wife and best friend Hilary told me, he “fought so hard” against Covid-19. James died after a most fulfilling life and a short illness. What is so sad is the gap he leaves behind for Hilary, his three sons and three grandchildren. As his family wrote in his obituary: “His death is a tragedy for the causes he didn’t help, the advice unoffered, the wisdom cut short and the smiles that never came.” At JR we’re grateful that he was able to give us so much. n James Anthony Leek born 8 May 1944; died 6 April 2020. Read about James in Meet The Reader, JR October 2019. G E T T Y
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THE REFUGEE WOMEN WEAVING ART FROM BROKEN LIVES A Tel Aviv project that began with basket-weaving to help African women asylum seekers has blossomed to become a showcase for international cutting-edge art. Dr Pamela Peled meets the women behind this remarkable initiative I TC H I D OV I DAV I R M One of Judaism’s most fabulous tenets evolved out of pain, echoing down through the ages: Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt (Exodus 22:21). Not only were Jews strangers, as the injunction admonishes, they were slaves. On their flesh they know not to do to others as they would not be done by. Modern Israelis have the chance to put this into practice. Some 30,000 refugees live in Israel, many from Africa. They wash dishes at restaurants or clean houses; coronavirus has killed their already limited ability to earn. Among the weakest and most vulnerable are the women, who are often single mothers. Some are ill, some have ill children; many are destitute, lonely and lost. Enter Diddy Mymin Kahn, an angel presiding over a magical space in a dilapidated tenement in Tel Aviv. From the outside it’s just another drab location; JULY 2020 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK 9

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WHAT’S NEW

N E W

S

’

W H A T

“THIS IS A TURNING POINT TO SHOW OUR LIVES MATTER TOO”

What is it like to be black and Jewish? A new investigation is aimed at uncovering racial inclusivity in the UK’s Jewish community. Nadine Batchelor-Hunt tells JR why change is badly needed

Following the death of George Floyd in the USA and the worldwide protests it triggered, the Jewish community is examining evidence of racism within its own structures. In June, the Board of Deputies for British Jews announced it was launching a commission into racial inclusivity in the community. Activist and journalist Nadine Batchelor-Hunt, who is of Jamaican heritage, says that this should be a wake-up call.

“It is hard to be black and feel part of the UK’s Jewish community – which is predominantly Ashkenazi and white. You do stand out: in the synagogue or kosher supermarket people stare or ask, “How Jewish are you?” or “Do you know Hebrew?” I always have to justify my Jewishness.

Once I was stopped by security at the synagogue door. They kept asking me where I was from, and if I was Jewish. I told them, “I know I’m black but I am Jewish. Are you going to let me in?” They finally let me in but it was humiliating. I was also bullied online. With my rabbi I reported it to the police as racial abuse. It was traumatic.

Across the world there are Yemenite Jews, Mizrachi Jews, Indian Jews, Ethiopian Jews, South American Jews and many others. As the activist April Baskin has said, we are a multi-racial, multicultural community. But in the UK that is

Top: Protesters at a demonstration in Parliament Square on 6 June show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement; Nadine Batchelor-Hunt not appreciated. It’s also frustrating that the similarities in history between black and Jewish persecution are not seen as a shared struggle.

One problem is that while the community leadership and press were outspoken about antisemitism in the Labour Party, they were silent over racism in the Conservative Party. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called Boris Johnson “the champion of the Jewish community”, but he is not a champion for me or other black Jews. He has a long record of making offensive comments about ethnic minorities, and the Conservatives have a terrible record on racism.

But now the leadership seems serious about looking at diversity. I and other Jews of colour are calling for the community’s structures to be more diverse and consultative with minorities. Jewish schools and cheder classes should teach about diversity; there are examples of black Jews in the Torah, which are simply ignored.

I hope this new inquiry is a turning point to show that our lives matter.” n nadinebh.wixsite.com/journalist

8 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK JULY 2020

REMEMBERING JAMES LEEK

We were shocked and saddened to hear of the death from Covid-19 of one of our long-time supporters, James Leek. JR’s founder Janet Levin remembers an inspiring man

It seems no time at all since James Leek arrived at my home on his bicycle to exuberantly reveal his latest proposals for JR. Not only did he generously donate money, he had brilliant ideas for recruiting subscribers.

Always cheerful and positive, he most notably gave enormous time and creativity to Wimbledon Synagogue, where he was a lay leader for over 45 years. He also supported numerous causes promoting cooperation, including the New Israel Fund, the local Council of Christians and Jews and the South-West London Israel Forum.

Meeting him as a modest and very friendly fellow congregant at kiddushim and post-meeting refreshments at Wimbledon Synagogue, I was surprised to learn that after achieving a Paris MBA, James had a stellar career running corporations in the financial and industrial world.

He was as fit as could be, and, as his beloved wife and best friend Hilary told me, he “fought so hard” against Covid-19. James died after a most fulfilling life and a short illness. What is so sad is the gap he leaves behind for Hilary, his three sons and three grandchildren. As his family wrote in his obituary: “His death is a tragedy for the causes he didn’t help, the advice unoffered, the wisdom cut short and the smiles that never came.”

At JR we’re grateful that he was able to give us so much. n

James Anthony Leek born 8 May 1944; died 6 April 2020. Read about James in Meet The Reader, JR October 2019.

G E T T Y

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