Author: Glen Berd

A Jewish kid from Queens.., “Hello darkness, my old friend…” Everybody knows the iconic Simon & Garfunkel song, but do you know the amazing story behind the first line of The Sounds of Silence? It began 62 years ago, when Arthur “Art” Garfunkel, a Jewish kid from Queens, enrolled in Columbia University. During freshman orientation, Art met a student from Buffalo named Sandy Greenberg, and they immediately bonded over their shared passion for literature and music. Art and Sandy became roommates and best friends. With the idealism of youth, they promised to be there for each other no matter what. Soon after starting college, Sandy was struck by tragedy. His vision became blurry and although doctors diagnosed it as temporary conjunctivitis, the problem grew worse. Finally after seeing a specialist, Sandy received the devastating news that severe glaucoma was destroying his optic nerves. The young man with such a bright future would soon be completely blind. Sandy was devastated and fell into a deep...

We are delighted to announce that the JRC Greater Manchester Community Awards will be held on 7 September 2023.   The Community Awards are an opportunity for our community to recognise individuals, teams and organisations who have gone above and beyond in giving of their time and expertise to the Greater Manchester Jewish community, to the wider community and/or delivered exceptional service.   More details can be found here   The closing date for nominations is 30 June 2023.   ...

Is Rough Diamonds Netflix's new Shtisel? The diamond trade in Antwerp is the backdrop for the new series BY NICOLE LAMPERT - Jewish Chronicle Rough Diamonds (Netflix) Antwerp and diamonds are inextricably linked with more than 80 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds making it through the Belgian city’s Diamond Quarter. Antwerp diamonds and the Jewish community – in particular the Chasidim - are also inextricably linked with the industry being so dominated by Jews that traditionally the main language used was Yiddish and the exchange was closed on a Saturday. That is all changing; while more than half of Antwerp’s 20,000 strong Jewish community still works in the diamond industry, it is becoming increasingly controlled by acontingent from the Indian subcontinent. At the same time, the sparkly world of diamonds has, through some high-profile court cases, shown its darker face with Antwerp diamonds being used by drug smuggling gangs and fraudsters across Europe. So it is no wonder that Flemish producer Pieter Van Huyck knew he...

 Shameful Silence on West Bank Massacre By Brendan O'neill    So that’s it, is it? A British mother and her two young daughters are murdered by a terrorist in the most awful fashion imaginable, and we’re just going to move on? Three British citizens are shot to death at point-blank range on account of their identity, their beliefs, and it’s fading from our collective memory already? The Foreign Office did express ‘sadness’ over this massacre of half a family, which is something, I suppose. Though if you and your mother were murdered overseas for being the ‘wrong’ kind of people, wouldn’t you hope for something more than sadness from the government? Anger, perhaps?   This is the grim story of the murder of Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia and Rina in the West Bank. The Dees are originally from the UK. The father of the family – Leo Dee – was a rabbi in Hendon in north London and later Radlett in Hertfordshire, parts of Britain with...

The real Jewish history behind Netflix’s ‘Transatlantic’ and the WWII rescue mission that inspired it Netflix's new seven-episode historical epic aims to recreate a rescue operation run by Varian Fry, of prominent 20th-century artists from Marseille, after the Nazis defeated France and before the United States entered the war While the United States swung its door shut to most refugees during World War II, a young American in France saved thousands, including some of the 20th century’s defining artists and thinkers — such as Marc Chagall and Hannah Arendt — from the Nazis   The rescue mission of Varian Fry, which went largely unrecognized during his life, is the subject of Netflix’s new drama “Transatlantic,” launching Friday from “Unorthodox” creator Anna Winger. 6 View gallery From '‘Transatlantic’ (Photo: Anika Molnar/Netflix) Starring Cory Michael Smith as Fry, the seven-episode “Transatlantic” aims to recreate his operation in Marseille after the Nazis defeated France and before the United States entered the war. Winger has injected several imagined romances, war efforts...

In wake of heavy loss, Rabbi Leo Dee calls for unity behind Israeli flag By NOA ROSEN : APRIL 11, 2023   The Efrat community was left in shock on Friday morning after a terror attack in the Jordan Valley took the lives of Efrat residents and sisters Maia and Rina Dee when on their way to Tiberias for the weekend. Their mother, Lucy (Leah), was critically wounded in the attack and was transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital where the medical team fought for her life over several days before being forced to determine her death on Monday afternoon. Rabbi Leo Dee, father of Maia and Rina and husband to Lucy, delivered an emotional speech on Monday evening in which he declared April 10 as "Dees Day," asking everyone to post a photo of themselves with the Israeli flag - or even just a photo of an Israeli flag - on social media in honour of his wife and children. "Today is Dees Day, when we can all...

Copied from a post online, with the kind permission of Martin Neville of Jewish Britain : Well, Seder night has been and gone ...all that preparation for a couple of hours each night and it passes quicker than you can say Hymie Goldberg Well Yontif (yiddish before anyone corrects me) has been and gone but its still a kind of Yom Tov as we have Easter Sunday and Bank holiday Monday to get through. The only decision we've got to make now is how to butter our matzah without it crumbling to pieces and is it cheese, chopped herring, smoked salmon or kosher le pesach Jam to again have on the matzah ..because almost 3 days in and the matzah is getting a little boring ...and with some people its obviously having a not so nice effect on their stomachs. Now heres a story. My mum always said that if you ate the burnt egg from the Seder plate you would be a Chosson...

https://youtu.be/f0qsy32Hk4s...

On Shabbat 1st April 2023, St. Anne's Shul had the honour of hosting the Barmitzvah of Isaac Purdon, followed by a celebration Kiddush hosted by his mother, Emma Purdon.   Here is Isaac's speech :   Thank you all for being here today to celebrate my Bar Mitzvah with me. What is it like being Jewish? To me it is about feeling proud to be Jewish. This is how I feel when I am in the synagogue, sharing prayers with the community and having that spiritual feeling that I get each time I attend. Today is a special day, it is Shabbat Ha Gadol. So what is the story behind today? It was in Egypt that Israel celebrated the very first Shabbat Ha-Gadol on the tenth of Nissan, five days before their redemption. Many miracles were performed for the Children of Israel on this first Shabbat haGadol. The Torah commanded them to take their lambs and tie them to the bedpost. When they did so, their Egyptian neighbors saw this...