As you look at the list of the most influential Jews on this list, please remember all the Palestinian children, mothers and fathers who were blown to pieces so that European Ashkenazi Jewry would continue to hold on to stolen Palestine from which their international power gets its steam.
Jewish Power 100
From The Jewish Chronicle
By Simon Round
May 16, 2008
The JC’s Power 100 of the most influential Jews in the country has sparked off plenty of debate in the media — mainly about how we could have possibly have fired (or rather failed to hire) Sir Alan Sugar.
For the record, Sir Alan — who is certainly Jewish and influential — did not make the list because, according to one of the judges, Ben Rich, although he is a generous philanthropist for Jewish causes, “he does not pursue a specific agenda”.
However, just in case Sir Alan is feeling left out (and he is certainly not someone we would like to offend), The Diary would like to nominate him as number one in our own Power 100 as the most entertaining Jew on television (on Wednesday nights)
The JC Power 100: Numbers 1 - 10
From The Jewish Chronicle
May 9, 2008
Sacks stays on top, as new names emerge
Today we reveal the top spots in our second annual list of those who wield the greatest influence on British Jewry, as chosen by JC readers and an expert independent panel representing all strands of community life. Over the next four pages we profile numbers 1-30 on our list, recap those from 31-100, and suggest some names to watch for the future. The chairman of our judging panel, Ben Rich, explains the guidelines for inclusion, or indeed exclusion, which may help clarify why some well-known personalities do not feature. With hundreds of nominations, there was impassioned debate by our panel over the composition of the list. As with last year, there was regret at the lack of women and younger people, but the judges wanted to avoid tokenism.
And the winner is...
Sir Jonathan Sacks 1 (Last year: 1)
It has been a good year for the Chief Rabbi, who turned 60 in March, and perhaps one of his best since taking office in 1991. Tens of thousands of copies have been sold of his edition of the Singer’s Prayer Book since its publication nearly a year-and-a-half ago. Extracts of his most recent book, The Home We Build Together — a critique of the excesses of multiculturalism and a recipe for social cohesion — appeared in The Times. Around 200,000 copies of his newly released double CD, Home of Hope, “a journey of music and words” to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary, have been distributed within the Jewish world with demands pouring in for editions in Hebrew and Russian. His musical choice for the discs, encompassing contemporary Israeli pop as well as chazanut —not to mention his appearance in a YouTube promotional video — demonstrates a rapport with younger listeners. At a time when religion has come under increasingly hostile attack from atheist hardliners, Sir Jonathan has consolidated his reputation as a rational and eloquent spokesman for people of faith through his broadcasts and newspaper columns. In an interview with The Times last year, he described himself as “the acceptable face of fundamentalism” — a reference to his Orthodox commitment. But it is a fundamentalism tempered by a highly cultured mind that opposes refuge in religious sectarianism and champions participation in the wider world. Few can match his gift for drawing insights from the Bible into contemporary society and communicating them to a broad audience. And unlike the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, whose remarks on sharia law had commentators frothing earlier this year, he has stepped well clear of potential banana skins.
Gerald Ronson 2 (2)
Still the community’s top philanthropist — he estimates that he has donated up to £40 million — Gerald Ronson has a deserved reputation for making things happen and refusing to be cowed by adversity. He rebuilt his Heron property empire from the brink of collapse and restored his standing in the Jewish and business worlds after being jailed for his part in the Guinness shares scandal. Age has not diminished his commitment to commercial and charitable endeavours. The 68-year-old says he works “an 80- or 90-hour week”, 20 per cent devoted to philanthropic activity. Pet projects are the Community Security Trust and the cross-communal Jewish Community Secondary School planned in East Barnet. He believes that JCoSS will be crucial to re-engaging those “who otherwise will be lost to our community”.
Trevor Pears 3 (4)
The publicity-shy property player moved from the family business to head its charitable foundation, which has given over £25 million to Jewish and other causes at home and abroad — from Action Aid Congo to the Holocaust Educational Trust. Considered the most interesting of the new breed of givers, Mr Pears prefers first-hand involvement in charitable ventures to leadership positions within the community. He says that he has the motivation — and, with the backing of his family, he also has the time. An example of the “creative agenda” highlighted by our judges is the Social Action Hub at the West Hampstead offices of the Pears group, which has been created to back innovative groups and individuals.
Dame Vivien Duffield 4 (10)
The highest-placed woman in the list has tied her colours to the mast of Britain’s first Jewish Community Centre, the ambitious London project planned to open in Finchley Road in 2011. Inspired by Manhattan’s successful and inclusive community centre, Dame Vivien involved her Clore Duffield Foundation, which has carried on the family tradition of philanthropy established by her late father, Sir Charles Clore. Her own spiritual guidance was from another advocate of inclusiveness, the late Rabbi Hugo Gryn. She has generously supported the Clore Shalom primary schools, Nightingale House and Jewish Care and established educational centres at the Tate Modern, the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. Money has also been distributed to schemes to enhance Jewish life outside of the capital.
Henry Grunwald 5 (14)
An effective Board of Deputies president, albeit ruling by consensus. His advocacy and oratorical skills, honed as a criminal barrister, come in handy in his discussions with government, presiding over Board meetings and speeches he delivers to a wide range of organisations. Mr Grunwald, 58, has been a Board member for over 25 years, chairs the Jewish Leadership Council and holds senior roles with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the European Jewish Congress. He is a Hampstead Synagogue warden.
Rabbi Tony Bayfield 6 (6)
Seen as a positive figurehead for the Movement for Reform Judaism, Britain’s second-largest synagogal group, the affable 61-year-old has a particular interest in interfaith matters. Theological differences with Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks have not precluded a friendship which dates back to their Cambridge days (Rabbi Bayfield read law and had a doctoral place at the Cambridge Institute for Criminology). After training at Leo Baeck College, he was minister at North-West Surrey Synagogue before being appointed director of the Sternberg Centre in Finchley. He has received a Lambeth degree from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Sir Howard Bernstein 7 (New)
The highest new entrant in 2008, the chief executive of Manchester City Council, which he joined as junior clerk, has been the power behind Community First, an Mancunian initiative to plan effectively for the future of the city’s Jewish population. Described as a proud if not hugely religious Jew, Sir Howard, 55, has the happy knack of being able to get things done. For example, he was instrumental in the regeneration of the city centre after the IRA bombing in 1996 and was central to Manchester’s successful bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The sports fan has also helped a number of leisure projects to fruition, as well as the establishment of Metrolink, the UK’s first on-street public-transport system. His knighthood was for services to Manchester.
Rabbi Avraham Pinter 8 (New)
A major omission from last year’s list, our panel agreed, Rabbi Pinter is known and admired as a bridge between the strictly Orthodox and the wider Jewish and general community. An astute and media-friendly educator and political operator, he is the first port of call for government departments, councils and journalists seeking the Charedi viewpoint. As principal of the Yesodey Hatorah schools in Stamford Hill, the former Hackney Labour councillor fought a difficult but ultimately victorious battle to win state aid for Yesodey Hatorah senior girls’ school. Evidence of Rabbi Pinter’s pulling power was that Tony Blair addressed the formal opening of the school’s £14 million campus in 2006 — with Lord Levy, Gerald Ronson and Richard Desmond among his audience. He also represents Charedi interests on the London Jewish Forum.
Lord Levy 9 (3)
A fundraiser par excellence for Tony Blair and Jewish Care, his influence has been diluted with the change of occupancy at Number 10, not least because he had served as Mr Blair’s personal Middle East envoy. But the rot had set in before then, given the peer’s revelation in his new biography, A Question of Honour, that he was “upset and angry with Tony” on discovering that the then PM had turned to venture-capitalist Sir Ronald Cohen for fundraising help before the 2005 election. Better news for Lord Levy, 63, was that the police did not press charges against him over their investigation into the “cash for peerages” affair. The allegations had caused “damage and aggravation to me and my family,” he said. “But it’s over now, thank goodness.”
Ron Prosor 10 (New)
A more visible and dynamic presence than his predecessor, Zvi Heifetz, Ron Prosor has hit the ground running as Israel’s London envoy, presenting its case forcefully in the mainstream while adept at ambassadorial glad-handing at communal events. Until mid-2006, Mr Prosor was director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before this he was senior deputy director general and chief of policy staff to the Foreign Minister. Fluent in English and German, the diplomat was also formerly a spokesman in London and Bonn and a political-affairs counsellor in Washington.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 11-20
Danny Finkelstein 11 (34)
The Comment editor of The Times is using his high media profile to speak out on issues of concern to the community. In Jewish terms, our panel rated him the cream of the crop of the senior journalists of his generation: he won the new Bermant Prize. Came up through the Tory ranks, serving in top Central Office capacities including policy-unit head to William Hague when he was party leader. However, his ambitions of a seat at Westminster were scuppered when he failed to win Harrow West from Labour in 2001. He has maintained connections, being thanked by Shadow Chancellor George Osborne for providing him with the lowdown on the Jewish community.
Mick Davis 12 (20)
A heavyweight player as chairman of UJIA, Mick Davis thinks big, gives big and brings in other big donors. All in aid of a programme to “guarantee a sustainable and positive future for the people of the Galil and the Jewish community of the UK” — and one centred on young people and education. The boss of the Xstrata mining company, Mr Davis was named in 2006 as Britain’s highest-paid chief executive with an income of around £15 million. He has been increasing his personal contribution to the charity.
Rabbi Ephraim Padwa 13 (23)
The head of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations’ Beth Din is an internationally regarded halachic authority. In the UK, his star is rising in tandem with the growth of the Charedi population in Stamford Hill and North-West London. Dayan Padwa succeeded his late father Chanoch in 2000. His pronouncements have impact beyond the strictly Orthodox world and he has opposed use of the North-West London eruv and plans to establish one in the Charedi strongholds of North London.
Sir Trevor Chinn 14 (8)
Out of the top 10 but still significant in community politics and financial support, Sir Trevor, 72, is the UJIA president, a Jewish Leadership Council member and chairman of the Israel Britain Business Council. His knighthood in 1990 was for charitable services, particularly the Wishing Well Appeal for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The career of the Clifton College old boy has been in the fast lane of the motor industry. He has chaired the Automobile Association, RAC plc (formerly Lex Service) and the Kwik-Fit Group.
Simon Morris 15 (52)
The Jewish Care chief executive “really is making things happen”, said one of our judges. He has a pivotal position as the man who takes the big decisions for British Jewry’s major welfare charity. Mr Morris, 47, has risen up the Jewish Care ranks having served as director, and previously assistant director, of community services. The job is more than administrative, as potential donors need to be persuaded to dig deep at a time of cutbacks in state support. He is currently overseeing the £40 million redevelopment of the charity’s Golders Green head office to provide a multi-purpose care campus.
Peter Levy 16 (24)
Our independent panel cited the Jewish Chronicle chairman for his dedication to the well-being of Reform Judaism and the wider population. Mr Levy, 68, is president of Akiva, the freshly state-aided Progressive primary school which formally dedicated its new building at the Sternberg Centre, Finchley, in February. The event entwined two of his great interests — support for Jewish day schools and the creation and development of the Sternberg Centre. He further chairs the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and, following a family tradition, holds office with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
John Mann 17 (New)
The non-Jewish Labour MP for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire has been one of the most powerful opinion influencers through his chairmanship of the The Parliamentary Committee against Antisemitism, whose grim all-party report shocked even some its members. The government responded by adopting one of the key recommendations — the establishment of a cross-departmental antisemitism task force. In the aftermath of the report, additional security funding is being made available to schools, British police forces will standardise their system for the reporting of antisemitic incidents, and the Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing how it deals with race-hate cases.
Jonathan Freedland 18 (11)
An accessible and reasoned supporter of Israel in the columns of The Guardian and a regular JC contributor. The early career of Oxford-educated Mr Freedland, 41, included reporting stints on the Washington Post and BBC News. He was The Guardian’s Washington correspondent from 1993-97 and his radio work includes the Radio 4 contemporary history series, The Long View. Among his literary output is Jacob’s Gift, a memoir telling the stories of three generations of his family and exploring wider issues of identity and belonging. Mr Freedland’s father, Michael, forged a different journalistic path as a celebrity biographer.
Baroness Julia Neuberger 19 (17)
Her appointment last June as the government’s independent volunteering champion has embellished a diverse CV. The 58-year-old was Britain’s second woman rabbi and the first to have her own congregation. She was chief executive of healthcare think-tank the King’s Fund and represents the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, where she speaks on health issues. In her latest role, she recently lent support to a World Jewish Relief initiative which reflected her desire to see “genuinely useful opportunities for volunteers” and for charities “to present clear ‘asks’ — where are the skills gaps, how can people make a difference, and so forth”.
Lord Janner 20 (7)
The Labour peer’s high standing in the inaugural Power 100 partly signified his role as an “incubator” of communal talent by giving starting jobs to leaders of the future. That influence may be waning as the indefatigable Cardiff-born political operator approaches 80. He represented Leicester constituencies in the Commons from 1970-97 before moving to the Lords. A modernising Board of Deputies president in the 1980s, he remains an impassioned voice on restitution and other Shoah issues as chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust. He speaks nine languages and is a member of the Magic Circle and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
Last updated: 3:08pm, September 17 2008
The JC Power 100: Numbers 21-30
Elliott Goldstein 21 (New)
It is a measure of the international impact of the cross-communal Limmud educational events that reader nominations for its twentysomething chairman included one from American historian Deborah Lipstadt. She wrote that Elliott Goldstein “stands at the helm of one of the most creative, influential and copied organisations in the UK, if not the Jewish world at large”. Over 5,000 British Jews attend at least one Limmud function a year and Mr Goldstein has taken over the reins at a time when the organisation is working with 15 international groups who have incorporated the Limmud model into their own communities. He was a strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group before being appointed chief executive of a luxury-consumer-goods company. His wife Gila is the daughter of the Chief Rabbi and an adviser to Gordon Brown.
Joe Lobenstein 22 (New)
An elder statesman of the Charedi community, the former Mayor of Hackney and Conservative politician has contributed significantly to its enhanced profile in the wider world. The Hanover-born 81-year-old has been a mainstay of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations and is a respected voice on educational, kashrut and welfare matters. He has been in the forefront of campaigns to protect shechitah and abolish mixed-sex hospital wards, condemning mixed-sex wards as “an insult to many people’s religious and moral backgrounds”. Served as mayor from 1997-2001. His MBE recognises longstanding public service.
Richard Benson 23 (44)
Not one to seek the limelight, the Community Security Trust chief executive fulfils a crucial role in overseeing security at synagogues, Jewish schools and other community organisations and around 1,000 communal events through trained and dedicated volunteers. Indeed, Mr Benson’s initial involvement in the trust was as a volunteer in the early 1990s. The CST has won the admiration of police and government. Visiting its Hendon headquarters last month, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith praised its work and cooperation with the authorities. Mr Benson was previously in the property field.
Melanie Phillips 24 (5)
The trenchant writer, author and blogger is one of Israel’s strongest media supporters. Nor does she pull her punches when commenting on political and social issues. But the controversial JC and Daily Mail columnist can bitterly divide opinion — and our panel questioned the extent of her influence on British Jews. Born in 1951, the Oxford-educated journalist made her name on The Guardian, moving on to The Observer and The Sunday Times before joining the Mail in 2001. Once seen as a champion of the left, she now advocates traditional values, bemoaning the moral failings of society. However, she prefers to consider herself a defender of “authentic liberal values against the attempt to destroy Western culture from within”. She is married to legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg.
Stephen Rubin 25 (22)
A generous benefactor to UJIA and Reform, among a plethora of charitable interests, Stephen Rubin has been instrumental in working towards the establishment of a non-Orthodox organisation promoting ethics on a range of issues. This follows an acrimonious split in the Jewish Association for Business Ethics over the exclusion of non-Orthodox rabbis. Mr Rubin runs sportswear company Pentland, whose brands include Berghaus, Ellesse, Kickers, Lacoste, Red or Dead and Ted Baker. The company is among recipients of this year’s Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in the international trade category.
Raphael Zarum 26 (48)
An inspiring personality who is admired for making Jewish learning accessible as chief executive of the London School of Jewish Studies. Popularly known as Rafi, Dr Zarum originated the successful Torah L’Am crash course, studied nationwide, which empowers students to “talk Torah”. His “48 things you can do to make a difference” guide has been distributed to thousands of schools and youth clubs. His educational expertise is in demand for conferences in Israel, America and Europe.
The Freshwater Family 27 (54)
Leading philanthropists in the strictly Orthodox community who contribute to hundreds of charitable causes, both organisations and individuals, here and abroad. Benzion Freshwater chairs the family’s property business and is valued at £970 million by the Sunday Times Rich List. As well as being part of the business, younger brother Shlomo has made a huge impact on the spiritual scene as rabbi of the Sassover Beis Hamedrash in Golders Green and head of the Chaye Olam yeshivah on Finchley Road, the only yeshivah in North-West London, to which he devotes a considerable amount of his time.
Rabbi Danny Rich 28 (31)
An effective chief executive of Liberal Judaism, which represents around 10,000 people in some three dozen communities, many outside of the major Jewish areas. The South Londoner was appointed in late 2004 after serving the Kingston Liberal congregation for almost two decades. He began his rabbinical training at Leo Baeck College in 1984, having been active in student politics at Manchester University, where he studied politics and modern history. Rabbi Rich is an advocate of equal religious and civil rights for women and homosexuals. He is a Jewish prison and hospital chaplain and heads interfaith initiatives in Surrey.
Gordon Brown 29 (New)
The Prime Minister may not have Tony Blair’s natural affinity with the Jewish community, but he has built on the good relations established by his predecessor. The government has extended its financial backing of sixth-formers’ visits to Auschwitz and Mr Brown has accepted an invitation to become a JNF patron. To rapturous applause, he told a Board of Deputies dinner last year: “Israel will always have our support. We will be a friend in good times and bad and we will never compromise our friendship for political expediency.” He is an admirer of the Chief Rabbi, whom he says he consults regularly.
Poju Zabludowicz 30 (57)
A “quiet power” in key organisations, particularly Bicom, the London-based Finnish billionaire is a recent addition to the Jewish Leadership Council. A major property player, Mr Zabludowicz, 56, is said to own 40 per cent of downtown Las Vegas including half-a-dozen casinos. His wife Anita is a prominent art collector.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 31 - 40
From The Jewish Chronicle
May 2, 2008
Adrian Cohen 31 (New)
Credited with improving the community’s relations with Ken Livingstone through his chairmanship of the London Jewish Forum, which promotes the interests of the capital’s Jewry with the Greater London Authority. The forum draws its membership from across the religious and political spectrums. A partner at London law firm Clifford Chance specialising in insolvency and corporate reconstruction, Mr Cohen is a past chair of the Union of Jewish Students who has also been convenor of the Canary Wharf kehilla. He would probably have been higher on the list had he not been on sabbatical in Israel.
Benjamin Perl 32 (15)
The drop in position of the educational philanthropist is the result of the ongoing debate on whether the Jewish school bubble has burst — a report from the Board of Deputies’ Community Policy Research Group suggests an excess of Jewish day-school primary and secondary places within five years in the mainstream sector. However, Mr Perl remains bullish, declaring: “We have been told on numerous occasions, ‘We don’t need more schools’, yet every one I have opened is now full.” Mr Perl’s support has been crucial to the building of a number of Orthodox schools here and in Israel. His Huntingdon Foundation takes its title from the Cambridgeshire location of his gift company.
Doug Krikler 33 (26)
As chief executive of UJIA, Doug Krikler occupies one of hottest seats within Anglo-Jewry. In the words of one panel member, the 42-year-old Londoner has “learnt a lot from the Gerald Ronson school of management... he runs a tight ship”. He has taken over the reins at a time the charity is committed to an ambitious fundraising programme, expanding its educational work and directing money to help alleviate poverty in Arab towns and villages. He was previously executive director of the Community Security Trust and director of the Maimonides Foundation, promoting Muslim-Jewish relations.
Leo Noe 34 (88)
The veteran property player is a hugely supportive presence to educational projects including the Kisharon special-education school and outreach organisation Project Seed. He established the Rachel Charitable Trust — which has helped more than 30 special-needs schools to achieve specialist status — and is the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust’s Sponsor of the Year. He recently hosted the annual Community Security Trust dinner. Mr Noe is the founding partner at REIT Asset Management, whose global portfolio of properties under management is valued at over six billion euros.
Ivan Lewis 35 (45)
The Bury South MP and Care Services Minister is keenly attuned to the welfare demands of his constituents, having been chief executive of the Manchester Jewish Federation prior to his election in 1997. Regarded as a good constituency MP, working assiduously to improve local amenities, he is passionate about his ministerial brief. Has the happy knack of being able to get people working together. In March, he accused the government of being out of touch with ordinary voters, albeit adding: “This is not a criticism of Gordon [Brown].”
Lorna Fitzsimons 36 (New)
Our judges feel the former Rochdale Labour MP is finding her feet at Bicom, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, devoted to improving Israel’s image in the UK. They describe her as “politically astute and using her outsider [non-Jewish] status to her advantage”. Ms Fitzsimons, 40, was president of the National Union of Students from 1992-94. Her first visit to Israel was as an NUS executive member. Elected to the Commons in 1997, she became a Labour Friends of Israel member. She set up a consultancy after narrowly losing Rochdale to the Lib-Dems in 2005 and took up the Bicom post in late 2006.
Moises Gertner 37 (New)
A low-key property tycoon who gives something back as one of North-West London’s leading benefactors of the Charedi community. As well as backing local enterprises, Mr Gertner looks sympathetically on appeals to lend small sums to individuals on an interest-free basis — for example, towards a deposit on a house. The 50-year-old and his brother Mendi, 48, also have interests in copper and the Gertners are valued at £430 million in the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
Martin Paisner 38 (62)
The partner in legal firm Berwin Leighton Paisner puts his expertise at the disposal of a great many communal organisations, among them the Weizmann Institute Foundation, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Pincus Fund for Jewish education in the diaspora. Mr Paisner, 64, has been an adviser to Tony Blair and was awarded a CBE for charitable services in 2004.
Sir Ronald Cohen 39 (93)
The private-equity boss and philanthropist has the ear of Gordon Brown, although he diplomatically couches himself as “a friend of the Prime Minister, just as I was a friend of Tony Blair”. However, his rise up the Power 100 recognises the Cairo-born businessman’s increasing efforts to ease the path to Middle East peace. His Portland Trust endeavours to bolster economic development in Gaza and the West Bank.In January, the 62-year-old launched a £500 million Palestinian housing project at the Herzliya conference of world Jewish leaders. “Politics and security have always been on the agenda,” he noted. “It is encouraging now to see economics coming into the picture.” Sir Ronald co-founded Apax Partners, a global private-equity group advising on funds totalling $35 billion. His third wife is film producer Sharon Harel.
Dayan Yonason Abraham 40 (New)
Seen as the younger face of the London Beth Din, Dayan Abraham is making an impact on the synagogue circuit as an engaging and informative lecturer. London-born, he arrived at the Beth Din after a peripatetic existence which took in studies in Gateshead and New Jersey, marriage in Australia and further studies in Jerusalem. Returning to Melbourne, he became rabbi of Caulfield Hebrew Congregation in 1995, joining the Melbourne Beth Din two years later. Invited to join the London authority in 2001, he has become involved in organisations including Tribe and the Jewish Association for Business Ethics.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 41 - 50
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
Stephen Smith 41 (72)
A non-Jew devoted to Holocaust education, Stephen Smith founded the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire in 1995 with his brother James as “a place of education, memory, testimony, art, academia and so much more besides”. The centre offers facilities for people of all ages and backgrounds to explore the history and implications of the Shoah. Its success led to his involvement in the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which he chairs. The trust is responsible for the national HMD commemoration, which will next year be in Coventry on the theme of “Stand up to Hatred”.
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg 42 (39)
The New North London Synagogue minister has been enjoying a dog’s life of late — a 100-mile walk in the company of his pet Mitzpah to raise funds for the shul’s building development. The trek, taking in places reflecting “the values to which the community aspires”, typifies the enterprise of the leading voice of Masorti in Britain, who has turned his Finchley congregation into one of the country’s largest and most influential. Glasgow-born Rabbi Wittenberg, 50, is also a gifted speaker and writer and is active in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
Joshua Rowe 43 (21)
A major Manchester educational player and philanthropist, whose goal is for young people to grow up with a Jewish identity. To this end, he is an unstinting supporter of the Manchester King David School, of which he is governors’ chairman. Mr Rowe was one of the fiercest critics of Education Secretary Ed Balls for naming faith schools said to have breached the government’s admissions policy, arguing: “You are not dealing with gangsters, but people who give their time for the benefit of the community.” The qualified pilot is also a respected Manchester speaker on other issues of concern.
Jeremy Newmark 44 (56)
Progress up the list for the Jewish Leadership Council chief executive recognises that the JLC is “beginning to find its legs” in its mission to enhance the effectiveness of the community’s political representation, influence strategic priorities and encourage greater cooperation. A savvy and diplomatic operator, the 35-year-old built his reputation as an effective communications director for Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, having previously served the Board of Deputies as international-affairs officer. After his stint for the Chief Rabbi, he ran a consultancy working for a number of Jewish organisations and was director of the Antisemitism Coordination Unit, monitoring threats in the UK and abroad.
Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy 45 (13)
The long-time spiritual head of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation is liked and respected as a voice for unity and moderation. But judges argued that his ranking last year reflected deference to the Sephardi community rather than an accurate assessment of his influence. Gibraltar-born Rabbi Levy, 68, presides over his community’s largest synagogue, Lauderdale Road in Maida Vale. He founded the Naima Jewish Primary School and supervises the UK’s only modern Orthodox rabbinical ordination course.
Clive Lawton 46 (18)
There was a divergence of views among the panel over the placing of the 56-year-old educationist. His supporters laud him as one of the community’s most charismatic personalities, expressing admiration for his chairmanship of Tzedek, the UK-based overseas-development charity which works with some of the world’s poorest communities. The former Liverpool King David High head and Liverpool educational authority deputy director was a major force behind the rise of the cross-congregational Limmud educational project.
Norma Brier 47 (New)
A steady hand in the progress of children and family charity Norwood, Norma Brier has served as chief executive since 1997. Family breakdown accounts for a significant percentage of Norwood’s caseload and Mrs Brier, 58, points out that such circumstances can leave children in a “very vulnerable state, needing a great deal of support at a time when they might not be getting it from their family”. She was formerly executive director of the Ravenswood Foundation, a lecturer in social work and a psychiatric social worker.
Professor David Cesarani 48 (New)
The research professor in modern history at Royal Holloway, University of London, is one of Britain’s foremost authorities on the Holocaust and advised the Home Office unit responsible for Holocaust Memorial Day. He has written widely on the subject and was engaged as a consultant to TV documentaries on Nuremberg and Auschwitz. Professor Cesarani was previously director of the Parkes Centre for the study of Jewish/non-Jewish relations at Southampton University. Awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to Holocaust education, the 51-year-old has been overseeing a major research project on Jewish philanthropy and social development in Europe (1800-1940).
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain 49 (9)
The long-serving Maidenhead Reform minister remains a capable media performer and has added a new string to a sizeable bow as chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis. But some on our panel considered his 2007 top 10 placing somewhat generous. The 53-year-old minister has helped his congregation grow from 80 families to 700 over the past 30 years. A pioneer of seminars for Jews with non-Jewish partners, Rabbi Romain has been a mainstream voice against faith schools, suggesting that they create religious ghettoes.
Nick Viner 50 (New)
Chief executive of the Jewish Community Centre for London, which aims to “provide a way into, or back into” Jewish life for its users. His major challenge is delivering the 80,000 sq ft community centre on Finchley Road planned to open in 2011. The centre will incorporate meeting rooms, performance space, fitness facilities, restaurants, a library and a nursery. The Belsize Square Synagogue congregant was formerly a senior partner of the Boston Consulting Group and changed careers because of his belief in the “vision” of the JCC. He also chairs a young people’s charity, Pop-Up. As a member of our judging panel, he diplomatically absented himself when his nomination was discussed.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 51 - 60
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
David Miliband 51 (New)
Making his Parliamentary bow as Foreign Secretary last July, David Miliband told MPs that Britain would be guided by “bedrock” principles in its Middle East policy. There would be no contact with Palestinian rejectionists and Israel would be taken to task over settlements which were “contrary to international law”. Mr Miliband, 42, is the son of Marxist theoretician Ralph Miliband, a Belgian-Jewish refugee from the Nazis, and Polish-born Marion Kozak, a supporter of left-wing Jewish groups. In Israel, the jury is out on him. At home, the South Shields MP has won friends by being the first Foreign Secretary to host a menorah-lighting ceremony and a video address to Wizo in which he said he had been “lucky” to have spent time in Israel.
Rabbi Naftali Schiff 52 (19)
The power behind social and educational organisation Aish UK, renowned for attracting unaffiliated young Jews to its programmes. Rabbi Schiff was raised in London and studied in Jerusalem, where he received semichah. He returned to England in the late 1990s to help generate funding for Aish trips to Israel and elsewhere.
Syma Weinberg 53 (New)
“The cotton wool that protects Sir Jonathan Sacks and the bandages that prevent him saying anything problematic,” according to our panel, Syma Weinberg has been executive director of the Chief Rabbi’s office since 1997. A former deputy head of Hasmonean Primary School, she went on to serve the Jewish Educational Development Trust and Jewish Continuity after two years on the British Educators’ Fellowship Programme. A respected and pragmatic operator.
Ed Balls 54 (New)
Gordon Brown’s Education Secretary angered some Jewish school supporters by exposing schools he said had breached the government’s admissions code. But in a subsequent article for the JC, the Normanton, West Yorkshire, MP made it clear that state-aided schools could seek donations for religious studies or security, provided requests were kept separate from the admissions process. He has also told the JC that “Jewish schools play a very important part in our education system and I absolutely want that to carry on”. His department has pledged £4.65 million to finance a further three years of sending sixth-formers to Auschwitz through the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Ita Symons 55 (80)
Chief executive of the Agudas Israel Housing Association, Ita Symons has been at the forefront of efforts to make affordable, good-standard housing available to the less well-off members of Stamford Hill’s Charedi community. A recent breakthrough has been gaining planning consent for a major project on the site of the former Avigdor School in the face of local opposition. It is one of “three multi-million-pound projects in the heart of the community,” Mrs Symons said. “They will make a massive difference to people’s lives.”
Rabbi Yoni Sherizen 56 (New)
The chief executive of Jewish Student Chaplaincy has built a professional organisation which has attracted modern Orthodox young educators. A Power 100 judge touted him as “a future major star — that is, if the community can hang onto him”. Rabbi Sherizen studied at New York’s Yeshiva University and in Jerusalem. Formerly student chaplain at Oxford, he sees his role as to inspire and strengthen Jewish identity; to increase the quality and choice of Jewish campus activities; and to provide high quality education in Judaism.
Lord Winston 57 (New)
The fertility expert and media personality told the JC last year that medical research which enabled scientists to create embryos that are part-human and part-animal would not contravene Orthodox values. He has chaired the Lords’ Science and Technology Select Committee and explored the relationship between science and religion in his book and BBC1 series, The Story of God. Music is another love and the 67-year-old North-West Londoner chairs the governing body of the Royal College of Music. For the BBC’s Play It Again, he was coached on the saxophone by Sir John Dankworth and Courtney Pine before performing a challenging solo to a packed Royal Albert Hall.
Anthony Julius 58 (New)
One of Britain’s top legal minds who has represented clients as diverse as Diana Princess of Wales and American academic Deborah Lipstadt, whom he successfully defended in a libel action brought by Holocaust-denier David Irving. The Cambridge University graduate is consultant and former litigation head of London firm Mishcon de Reya. As an author, his works include an examination of the antisemitism of TS Eliot. His legal team was dropped by Heather Mills during her acrimonious divorce battle with Sir Paul McCartney, but there were more pressing personal issues during the year —his second wife Dina Rabinovitch, a JC and Guardian columnist, died of breast cancer.
Keith Black 59 (57)
One of the leading lights behind the regeneration of Manchester Jewry with particular involvement in UJIA, the Community Security Trust and helping to improve facilities for students. In business life, he is managing director of the family-run outdoor-clothing company Regatta, which employs over 350 staff at its Manchester headquarters and is the UK’s biggest supplier of outdoor and leisure clothing.
Professor Leslie Wagner 60 (New)
With faith schools increasingly under the government’s microscope and some Jewish primaries and secondaries struggling to fill places, the Derby University Chancellor is at the forefront of communal educational planning as the chairman of the Commission on Jewish Schools, a Jewish Leadership Council project. He has said that it will not “shirk any issue just because it is difficult and will not accept wishful thinking as a substitute for hard choices”. Professor Wagner, 65, has held a string of higher-education appointments.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 61 - 70
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
Rabbi Danny Kirsch 61 (43)
A fall in the rankings for the Orthodox outreach activities specialist. Raised in Hampstead Garden Suburb, Rabbi Kirsch “caught the community involvement bug” as a youth leader and activist. After a foray into the fashion world, five years in Israel at Ohr Somayach Yeshivah prepared him for a rabbinical return to run the Jewish Learning Exchange.
Mark Ronson 62 (New)
The uber-cool DJ and producer of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen has wowed critics and music buyers with his Version album, which also features Winehouse and Allen. Proud of his Jewish roots, the British-born, New York-raised multi-talent has been talking with Winehouse about recording a festive record, with Chanucah songs on one side and Christmas melodies on the other. When interviewed by the JC, the 32-year-old said it was the only paper he could remember his grandma having on her table. He also said he would want to bring up his children as Jews because of the “things I love about it, both traditionally and spiritually”.
Lord Rothschild 63 (66)
Slight upward mobility for the power behind Yan Hanadiv, the family foundation, which maintains the famous banking family’s philanthropic credentials. Yan Hanadiv has an impressive range of Israeli interests and Jacob Rothschild is a top-table regular at fundraising events. But some panel members questioned the domestic influence of the peer.
Helena Miller 64 (New)
Described by a Power 100 judge as a Reform treasure who has reached a wider audience, Helena Miller is UJIA’s research director. She has taught and written on a wide range of subjects and is a mentor to many in the educational field. Previously director of education and professional development at Leo Baeck College, she fronts the Pikuach schools inspection programme.
Richard Desmond 65 (60)
Has settled in as president of Norwood with improved financial results suggesting that he has met his brief of reinvigorating its donor base. Mr Desmond’s Norwood role is evidence of his increased charitable involvement in recent years. “Adult” publications and pornographic TV channels have contributed to the fortune of the Express newspapers and OK! magazine boss.
Elkan Levy 66 (New)
The former United Synagogue president continues to impact on an important strand of activity as director of the Office of Small Communities. He has also been in the limelight as chair of the publication committee of the well-received new edition of the Singer’s Prayer Book, which is used by Orthodox congregations. A keen Anglo-Jewish historian, he lectures widely.
Jewdas (Geoffrey Cohen) 67 (New)
“Geoffrey Cohen” is the collective pseudonym for representatives of the subversive Jewish group. It came to wider attention in 2006 when four members were arrested at the Simcha in the Square celebration in Trafalgar Square on suspicion of disseminating antisemitic material — flyers for a “Protocols of the Elders of Hackney” party. Police decided not to press charges. A more recent event featured obscure films on Jewish anarchists, “extreme Jewish food” and “Jewla hooping” (Jewish hula-hooping, obviously). Once promised a talk from Lord Levy on “fraud, antisemitism and where to buy in Totteridge”. Unsurprisingly, the peer didn’t show.
Yeshua Stobietsky 68 (New)
The low-profile businessman who has built up the UK franchise of Hamodia newspaper from small beginnings to be, in the view of many, the main voice of the strictly Orthodox community. Writing in this month’s 10th-anniversary magazine of British Hamodia, Mr Stobietsky defines its aim as providing “kosher reading for the whole family... It is important that people should see the Charedi world in a positive light”. He is also helping to establish Hamodia in France.
Leonie Lewis 69 (63)
As project director of the Chief Rabbi’s Office, Leonie Lewis has been stepping-up its interfaith involvement and promoting the Israel — Home of Hope CD, featuring songs selected by the Chief Rabbi. She was appointed after making an impact within the United Synagogue as director of its community-development group, helping to revive fading congregations and establish new ones such as Brondesbury.
Mike Grabiner 70 (New)
In conveying the Reform Movement’s message, Mike Grabiner, 57, brings to bear a wealth of communications experience. The one-time chief executive of telecoms company Energis is a senior member of the tech and telecom team at investment house Apax Partners. The Cambridge graduate and former Brent Labour councillor was brought up within the United Synagogue fold, but his religious compass changed on meeting his wife Jane, who was from a Reform home. He is working to entice the young unaffiliated, opining: “I think the Reform approach is one of British Jewry’s best hopes”.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 71 - 80
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
David Toube 71 (New)
An up-and-coming name as key contributor to the well-regarded Harry’s Place blog, which is sympathetic to Israel, if at times critical, and exposes what it sees as left-wing hypocrisy. In professional life, the Oxford-educated blogger is an associate at the London office of international law firm Cleary Gottlieb, where he specialises in Financial Services Authority requirements to which regulated companies are subject. He has also authored legal guides and lectured in law at Queen Mary College, University of London.
Melanie Danan 72 (New)
A power within the Stamford Hill community, and beyond, as policy manager of Interlink, the umbrella body for the Charedi voluntary sector, which is highly thought of in government circles. Prior to joining Interlink in 1999, she coordinated Chizuk, a support agency for those with mental-health problems. In a 20-year career in the charity sector, she has also developed services for people with learning disabilities and been involved in the management of a maternity-support organisation.
Lady Jakobovits 73 (30)
A beloved communal elder, the widow of Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits maintains a busy diary, giving entertaining and often challenging talks to groups young and old. An undiminished commitment to Holocaust education reflects her background as a refugee from the Nazis. The 79-year-old maintains involvement in a range of women’s and welfare organisations, including Emunah, Jewish Care, Chai Cancer Care, the League of Jewish Women and Wizo.
Samuel Hayek 74 (New)
Prominent this year as key peacemaker in resolving the conflict between JNF UK and Israel-based international KKL, which had threatened to set up a rival fundraising operation in the UK. A property man, philanthropist and art collector who divides his time between the UK and Israel (where he was born in 1953), he is establishing a contemporary art centre in the heart of old Jaffa to promote young artists. His diplomatic skills were previously deployed as an adviser to Ariel Sharon and as a military spokesman for the IDF.
Sir Sigmund Sternberg 75 (46)
The veteran philanthropist remains a persuasive voice on interfaith issues. A past recipient of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, Sir Sigmund, 86, was a founder of the Three Faiths Forum, bringing together Jews, Muslims and Christians, and is a patron of the International Council of Christians and Jews. Has also made a significant contribution to the Reform Movement of which he is life president, having established the Sternberg Centre in Finchley as a venue for religious, educational and cultural activities.
Ken Livingstone 76 (92)
Although he will be less influential after May 1 if he loses the London mayoral race to Boris Johnson, Mr Livingstone, 62, has impressed the Charedi community with his appreciation of its housing problems and his support for new projects. He has raised the prospect of a Charedi presence in the proposed major development of the Thames Gateway. In the short-term, he has held talks with community leaders about providing bigger houses for the strictly Orthodox. However, many Jews find it difficult to forgive his likening of Evening Standard journalist Oliver Finegold to a concentration-camp guard; insulting comments about businessmen David and Simon Reuben; and his hosting of controversial Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
Jennifer Moses 77 (New)
Recruited by Gordon Brown to advise on social policy, the financier and charity supporter is no stranger to the headlines, most recently about the collapse of husband Ron Beller’s hedge fund in the global credit crunch. The media had a field day over the 2004 court case when the then Goldman Sachs investment banker and her husband had more than £1 million stolen from them by Ms Moses’s personal assistant — without either of them realising. In 2002 she helped establish Ark, a London-based international children’s charity, and has reportedly channelled £2 million of her own money through Ark into the King Solomon Academy in Marylebone.
Rabbi Jonathan Magonet 78 (New)
A big year for the former Leo Baeck College principal and Reform Movement personality. He is the editor of the new edition of the Reform Siddur, Forms of Prayer, and is also in the forefront of Muslim-Jewish dialogue in the UK. Rabbi Magonet, 65, enthusiastically endorsed a recent initiative by prominent Muslims here and abroad for “peace, dialogue and understanding between Jews and Muslims”.
Geraldine D’Amico 79 (100)
Movement up the list reflects the quality and popularity of Jewish Book Week under her stewardship. The crowds continued to support the event this year despite the late withdrawals of star speakers such as Zadie Smith and Jon Ronson. Previously cultural attaché at the French Embassy in London, where she was instrumental in promoting Francophile writers. Our judges complimented her as “a good coalition-builder”.
Alan Goldman 80 (New)
The former director of Heron international is the “fixer’s fixer”, helping to ensure the delivery of Gerald Ronson’s communal projects. He has a finger in many pies, including the Jewish Leadership Council and JCoSS, the cross-communal secondary school due to open in East Barnet in 2010. Another educational role is the chairmanship of British ORT. Mr Goldman is a Stanmore Synagogue member
The JC Power 100: Numbers 81 - 90
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
Jessica Truman and Adam Pike 81 (69)
With ongoing problems for Jewish students on campus from Muslim and left-wing elements, much rests on the outgoing and incoming UJS chairs. Nearing the end of her chairmanship, Jessica Truman took satisfaction in a positive NUS conference in Jewish student terms. Her successor harnessed the power of the new media in a productive “Vote Pikey” election campaign on Facebook and YouTube. His youth-movement experience takes in RSY and FZY.
Alex Strom 82 (New)
A mover and shaker within the Charedi community. The Golders Green businessman and Jewish Tribune columnist is the driving force behind the youth summer camps for the strictly Orthodox, which have been running for over 30 years. The camps today cater for 250 youngsters, many from disadvantaged backgrounds. His voluntary work extends to independent marriage counselling.
Rabbi Naftali Brawer 83 (New)
Hailed as the “Barack Obama of Anglo-Jewry” by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Brawer is a rising star of the Orthodox world. He is enjoying a larger congregational audience following his move from Northwood Synagogue to Elstree and Borehamwood. Described by the Chief as “the most laid-back, non-judgemental rabbi” he knew, the Boston-born, Montreal-raised minister endeavours to combine Torah learning with openness to “the wisdom of the wider world”. He is a member of the Chief Rabbi’s cabinet with responsibility for Jewish-Muslim relations and a regular JC contributor.
Alan Howard 84 (85)
The hedge-fund specialist continues to support Israel and other Jewish causes through a range of charitable means. Among his interests are Holocaust education, the homeless and Israeli film — the Alan Howard Charitable Foundation is among the sponsors of the UK Jewish Film Festival. The Hasmonean old boy is not from a strictly Orthodox background, but his Jewish ethos has been informed by friendships with rabbis. He is the founder of the £10bn London hedge fund Brevan Howard, whose interests include emerging markets, reinsurance, water and healthcare.
Louise Ellman 85 (67)
Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside since 1997, the 62-year-old is probably Israel’s staunchest supporter in an often hostile Commons. She came to Westminster after leading Lancashire County Council. Her varied responsibilities include sitting on the Transport Select Committee, a vice-presidency of the Local Government Association, and board membership of Merseyside arts and cultural organisations. She also chairs the Jewish Labour Movement, the successor organisation to Poale Zion, and is a Labour Friends of Israel vice-chair.
Rabbi Joey Grunfeld 86 (New)
Born in London and ordained in Gateshead, Rabbi Grunfeld is an adult-education pioneer as the founder, in 1980, and executive director of Project Seed. It runs around 50 weekly centres attended by over 2,000 adults, as well as weekend seminars and counselling services. It also led the way in the organisation of weekend educational retreats. Its schemes include One to One, offering students a learning programme tailored to their needs.
Jon Benjamin 87 (New)
Although some consider the Board of Deputies a diminished force these days, its director-general has the ear of many in government. A solicitor by profession, Jon Benjamin came to the Board after five years as chief executive of British ORT. Much younger, at 43, than his predecessor Neville Nagler, he is readily accessible and has brought a modernising hand to the Board’s workings which has been appreciated within and outside the organisation.
Stuart Polak 88 (79)
Conservative Friends of Israel director since 1989, Stuart Polak oversees all aspects of CFI’s strategy, maintaining regular contact with Conservative leaders, whom he briefs on Israeli issues. An effective behind-the-scenes lobbyist, he was a key mover behind Borehamwood’s Yavneh College, which opened in 2006. With his colours tied to David Cameron’s mast, a Tory election victory would increase his influence.
Trudy Gold 89 (New)
Chief executive and a major player in the development of the London Jewish Cultural Centre, which offers a diversity of educational and cultural activities from its state-of-the-art base at Ivy House, Golders Green. Over 1,300 people pass through its doors each week for day and evening courses, events for young professionals and to hear speakers from the arts and other spheres. An energetic presence, she constantly asks: “How can we do this?” Expert in Jewish history, she is editor-in-chief of the teaching resource pack Lessons of the Holocaust.
Daniel Dover 90 (New)
A tax specialist with accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, Daniel Dover is a respected and well-connected worker for causes across the Jewish spectrum. A forthright personality with a wicked sense of humour, he advises charities on financial issues and helps organisations such as Charedi schools in negotiations with the taxman. Although he likes to keep a low profile, he is a regular at fundraising dinners and a frequent visitor to Israel. Author of War or Peace: Skirmishes with the Inland Revenue.
The JC Power 100: Numbers 91 - 100
From The Jewish Chronicle
September 5, 2008
Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag 91 (New)
The long-serving minister of Manchester's Whitefield Synagogue was cited by the judges for his wider communal role, particularly in the creation of innovative employment projects for Charedim — for example, vocational courses in subjects such as accountancy. Another goal has been working towards an infrastructure for Jewish learning to be available for all ages and abilities. He founded and has maintained an interlinking roster of educational organisations through the Whitefield shul “campus”.
Miriam Benchetrit 92 (New)
A rising name as head of the Rothschild Foundation (Europe), established in 2000 as the Hanadiv Charitable Foundation. The foundation supports the development of Jewish culture and identity, the preservation of Jewish sites and documents, and charities working to advance equality and civil rights. She has professionalised its operations by creating projects, particularly in Eastern Europe. Holder of a BA and MSc in Middle Eastern politics and political theory, she has worked for the Minerva Centre for Human Rights at the Hebrew University and Shatil, the New Israel Fund’s centre promoting democracy, tolerance and social justice.
Sami Shamoon 93 (New)
Businessman and big cheese in Sephardi circles in the UK and abroad. Born into a wealthy Iraqi family, he moved to Iran in the late 1940s and spent time in Israel. He and his wife came to England after the Iranian revolution. The Naima JPS Primary School in Maida Vale, West London, is among his British involvements.
Paul Anticoni 94 (New)
Chief executive of World Jewish Relief, which has forged a reputation for its global welfare work for needy Jews, particularly in Eastern Europe. He has brought wide-ranging experience to the role, having managed Red Cross global disaster response operations in Africa, South-East Asia and Kosovo.
Charles Keidan 95 (New)
Director of the Pears Foundation and instrumental in advancing its agenda, which places strong emphasis on a combination of Jewish values, social action and human rights. The 31-year-old was political adviser to colourful Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik before briefly working for the Pears family property business. He was the first employee of the Pears Foundation.
David Hirsh 96 (New)
A sociology lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London, David Hirsh established the Engage website to counter left-wing and trades-union anti-Zionism and antisemitism. He was also to the fore in the campaign to reverse the academic boycott of Israeli universities.
David Kyte 97 (New)
The 47-year-old North Londoner is the co-founder of London Maccabi, the UK’s largest Jewish football club, which runs seven men’s teams and 27 junior sides (aged seven-18) . He is also a trustee of Rowley Lane Maccabi, which owns a 47-acre sporting facility in Arkley, Herts. Traded on the LIFFE market from its inception in 1982 and set up The Kyte Group in 1985.
Ella Marks 98 (New)
President of the League of Jewish Women, one of the community's unsung voluntary-service groups. Introduced to volunteering as a child, accompanying her mother on visits to the elderly in residential homes, she was attracted to the League because it works both within and outside the Jewish community. Trained as a social worker, Mrs Marks went on to lecture in social work and was an Open University tutor for many years.
Mike Freer 99 (New)
The non-Jewish Barnet Council leader and Tory Parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green has worked to build links with the Jewish community, highlighting on his personal profile his membership of Conservative Friends of Israel and involvement in the Barnet Multi-faith Forum.
Linda Grant 100 (New)
Since her first novel, The Cast Iron Shore, in 1996, Linda Grant, 57, has won six major literary awards and been shortlisted for two more. The child of Russian and Polish immigrants has written regularly on Jewish themes. Her latest work, The Clothes On Their Backs, tackles issues including the Holocaust, racism and the dilemma facing Jewish refugees to Britain — maintain a low profile, or seize on opportunities.
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