ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMME MAY 2020 TO SEPTEMBER 2020
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Edgware United Synagogue, Parnell Close, Edgware, HA8-8YE
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMME
MAY 2020 TO SEPTEMBER 2020
All live stream sessions commence at 8.00 pm
Welcome to the Edgware United Synagogue adult education programme from May to September 2020 which will all be live
streamed via Edgware United Synagogue Youtube Channel, Facebook and via Zoom. Please visit Edgware United Synagogue
Facebook Public Page - https://www.facebook.com/pg/edgwareu/events or subscribe on Youtube to “Edgware United
Synagogue” You Tube Channel
All sessions are free. It is a varied programme and we hope that it will have a wide appeal.
The Government has moved the early May Day Bank Holiday forward from Monday to Friday for the nation to celebrate VE day
from Friday 8th May to Sunday 10th May. Our programme starts on Tuesday 5th May with a presentation on ‘PROJECTING
BRITAIN AT WAR- THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF BRITISH-MADE WW2 FILMS’ by Jeremy Havardi, the BBUK’s Director of the
London Bureau of International Affairs, who wrote the definitive book on the subject.
This is followed by a session during Mental Health Awareness Week with Jonny Benjamin, MBE, the mental health campaigner
and his father Michael Benjamin. He is the author of ‘THE STRANGER ON THE BRIDGE- My journey from despair to hope.’ It is an
inspirational true story of his search to find the stranger who talked him out of jumping off Waterloo Bridge 12 years ago.
The Jewish community is fortunate to have a doughty fighter who stands up to be counted when discrimination raises its ugly
head. Luke Akehurst, the Director of ‘We believe in Israel’ will be speaking on ‘WHAT’S GOING ON IN REGARD TO ISRAEL, JEWS
AND ANTISEMITISM IN THE LABOUR PARTY.’
Without the late Sir Jack Cohen, would supermarkets have developed into the mega retail stores that we have today? His
great-nephew, Richard Cohen, will tell us about SIR JOHN (JACK) COHEN & 100 YEARS OF TESCO.
Have you ever wondered what the Zionist pioneers would have thought of modern- day Israel? Robin Moss, the Director of
Strategy at UJIA has a session entitled ‘WE’RE ALL DOOMED?’ in which he looks at the predictions and visions of the early
Zionists and sees how true they came.
The Edgware Jewish community has many luminaries and four well known figures feature in a brains trust.
We now have an annual cantorial session. This year, to mark the United Synagogue’s 150th anniversary celebrations, we are
pleased to present ‘A CELEBRATION OF THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE CANTORIAL TRADITION: A TRIBUTE TO ITS CHAZANIM’
We advertise all our events on the Edgware US, United Synagogue and UniquelyEdgware websites and details of each
upcoming session can be found in the weekly Edgware Chailights and Edgware US members’ page on Facebook. If you miss any
of the sessions, you can find most of them on Youtube. Just type in Tony Honickberg and search for the one you are interested
in.
Spencer Nathan (Adult education organiser) Further information: spencer.nathan@outlook.com
SUMMARY
Tuesday 5th May at 8 pm
VE 75th ANNIVERSARY IS ON FRIDAY 8th MAY
Jeremy Havardi, B’nai B’rith’s Director of the LBIA (London Bureau of
International Affairs)- historian and journalist
PROJECTING BRITAIN AT WAR
The National Character of British-made WW2 films
Study of British made-films about the Second World War.
Tuesday 19th May at 8 pm
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK
Jonny Benjamin, MBE, mental health campaigner and father Michael Benjamin
THE STRANGER ON THE BRIDGE
My journey from despair to hope
Tuesday 2nd June at 8 pm
Luke Akehurst, Director of We Believe in Israel
WHAT’S GOING ON IN REGARD TO
ISRAEL, JEWS AND ANTISEMITISM
IN THE LABOUR PARTY?
Tuesday 30th June at 8 pm
Richard Cohen (great nephew)
SIR JOHN (JACK) COHEN
100 YEARS OF TESCO
Tuesday 21st July at 8 pm
Robin Moss, Director of Strategy, UJIA
WE’RE ALL DOOMED?
A look at the predictions and visions of the early Zionists and how true they came.
Tuesday 11th August at 8 pm
EDGWARE BRAINS TRUST
A group of well-known Edgware residents give impromptu answers to questions from the audience
Howard Youngerwood Former Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor (London) 1993 – 1996
Prof. Irving Taylor Clinical Professor; Department of Targeted Intervention, UCL
Ellisa Bayer Senior Investment Director, Investec Wealth and Investment
Naomi Dickson Chief Executive, Jewish Women’s Aid
Tuesday 8th September at 8 pm
Rabbi Geoffrey Shisler
The United Synagogue's 150th Anniversary
A CELEBRATION OF THE UNITED
SYNAGOGUE’S CANTORIAL
TRADITION:
A TRIBUTE TO ITS CHAZANIM (1870
to 2020)
Their lives and their music
Adult education re-commences in late October 2020 after the Festivals.
PLEASE SEE INDIVIDUAL PAGES BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS
Tuesday 5th May at 8 pm.
VE 75th anniversary is on Friday 8th May
Jeremy Havardi, B’nai B’rith’s Director of the LBIA (London Bureau of
International Affairs)- historian and journalist.
A joint meeting with B’nai B’rith over 45s group
PROJECTING BRITAIN AT WAR:
The National Character of British-made WW2 Films
Study of British-made films about the Second World War.
This detailed chronological analysis of British World War II movies from 1939 until the present explores
how films projected recognizable stereotypes of British national character and how the times in which a
film was made shaped its perspectives. The talk will look at films made during and immediately after the
war. In depictions of the Home Front, characters display resolve, as well as emotional restraint and
present an image of an undivided society cooperating to fight evil. By contrast, duty and service are the
paramount virtues of combat films while spy melodramas exemplify the British love of improvisation.
Fifties war films are examined against the backdrop of alarm and uncertainty caused by the Cold War.
Such films reflect traditional national character stereotypes, though the stiff upper lip begins to be
questioned by the end of the decade. It then traces the radical effect of the 1960s revolution, revealing
how the fondness for skeptical antiwar movies went hand in hand with the questioning of Britain's place
in the world. It ends by looking at recent war films and asks whether these reflect the cult of narcissism so
prevalent in modern Britain.
Jeremy Havardi is a historian and journalist based in London. He was educated at
Haberdashers Aske’s School before studying at Bristol University and King’s College, London.
He has degrees in philosophy, history and law, all of which strongly inform his writing.
He has written four books, Falling to Pieces, a philosophical study of self -deception; The
Greatest Briton, a set of essays on the life and political philosophy of Winston Churchill; Projecting Britain
at war, an analytical study of British films about the Second World War; and Refuting the anti-Israel
narrative, a detailed and comprehensive critique of the charges made against Israel today,
His articles have been published widely, appearing in The Guardian, The Australian Jewish News, The
Commentator, The Times of Israel and The Gatestone Institute. He is also a regular columnist for the
London based Jewish News, where he also writes book reviews and features.
In 2011, he was commissioned to co-write a book celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Board of
Deputies of British Jews. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Tuesday 19th May at 8 pm
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK
Jonny Benjamin, MBE, mental health campaigner and father Michael Benjamin
THE STRANGER ON THE BRIDGE
Jonny Benjamin, MBE, is an award-winning mental health campaigner, film producer, public speaker,
writer and vlogger.
At the age of 20 he was diagnosed with
schizoaffective disorder, a combination of
schizophrenia and bipolar, and later began
making films on YouTube about the condition
that have been watched by millions of people.
Jonny now speaks publicly about living with
mental illness and has written articles and given
various interviews on TV, Radio and in print
around the world to help educate and break
stigma. He has also produced and presented
documentaries on BBC Three and Channel 4 on
the subjects of mental health and suicide.
His 2014 social media campaign with Rethink Mental Illness to #findMike, the man who talked him out of
jumping off a bridge when he was suicidal, went viral and led to Jonny
becoming a prominent spokesperson on the subject of suicide.
In 2016 Jonny launched ThinkWell, a mental health programme for
schools, which has so far been into secondary schools across the UK with
huge success.
Jonny spent 2017 writing the first of 2 books on mental health that was
published in May 2018. His second book, currently titled The Book of
Hope, will be a collection of quotes, poems and stories by himself and
others to inspire recovery and hope. It will be published in 2020.
In 2019 Jonny launched his new mental health charity, Beyond Shame
Beyond Stigma, together with Neil. Beyond Shame Beyond Stigma is a
grant-giving organisation which aims to provide mental health support to
young people, their families and teachers.
Tuesday 2nd June at 8 pm
Luke Akehurst, Director of We Believe in Israel
WHAT’S GOING ON IN REGARD TO ISRAEL, JEWS AND
ANTISEMITISM IN THE LABOUR PARTY
Luke Akehurst is in a unique position to lift the lid on the history and causes of Labour antisemitism
having had the dual vantage points of being at the heart of the party’s decision-making and being leader
of a pro-Israel campaign organisation.
He will explore the historical roots of antisemitism on the left, the organisational
pathway that saw it brought into the mainstream of the party and institutionally
capture it, and the ideological basis of antisemitic variants of anti-Zionism, anti-
imperialism and anti-capitalism. He will also look at events since the General Election,
whether these constitute a turning point in the battle within the party, and what the new leadership
needs to do.
Luke Akehurst has been Director of We Believe in Israel since 2011. We Believe in Israel is a BICOM
initiative and is a broad coalition of over 21,000 supporters of Israel. Luke is not Jewish but has been a
committed Zionist all his life. Outside of work he was a Hackney Councillor for 12 years, has stood for
Parliament twice and served on the Labour Party National Executive Committee. He is Secretary of Labour
First, a network of Labour moderates. He was previously an award-winning Director at global PR company
Weber Shandwick.
The notorious “Freedom for Humanity”
mural by Mear One in Tower Hamlets,
which Jeremy Corbyn did not initially
recognise as antisemitic, which was the
trigger for the Enough is Enough demo.
Tuesday 30th June at 8 pm
Richard Cohen (great nephew)
SIR JOHN (JACK) COHEN & 100 YEARS OF TESCO
Richard will explore Jack's early life in the
army during WW1 and trace his career
through to his death and then discuss how
Tesco has developed into an economic
powerhouse. He will give an illustrated
presentation and welcome Q&A at the end.
Richard has been a barrister, solicitor, part
time historian and a non- commercial actor.
He gives talks on his great-uncle Jack Cohen,
founder of Tesco, and Churchill and the
Jews. Richard is a member of the Board of
Deputies and Chair of the Jewish Historical
Society of England, Essex Branch.
Tuesday 21st July at 8 pm
Robin Moss, Director of Strategy, UJIA
WE’RE ALL DOOMED?
The talk looks at the predictions and visions of the early Zionists and sees how true they came.
The early Zionists were a pretty pessimistic lot. Whether it was catastrophic violence from without or
creeping assimilation from within, they firmly believed that, without a Jewish State, the Jews were
doomed. With the benefit of a century of hindsight, we’ll see if the prophecies of Herzl, Pinsker,
Jabotinsky and others still feel relevant to us in 2020.
Robin Moss is Director of Strategy at UJIA, the leading Israel charity in the British
Jewish community. He leads the organisation's educational team, annually
engaging thousands of young British Jews through a wide range of frameworks,
as well as developing and delivering UJIA's overall strategy. He is also the
youngest member of UJIA's Senior Executive Team. A highly-regarded educator,
Robin has spoken about Israel to audiences young and old across the UK and
around the world. He graduated from New College, University of Oxford, with an
MPhysPhil in Physics and Philosophy, lives in London and loves reading, tour
guiding Jewish Europe and film music.
Tuesday 11th August at 8 pm
EDGWARE BRAINS TRUST
A group of well-known Edgware residents give impromptu answers to questions from the audience
Howard Youngerwood Former Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor (London) 1993 – 1996
Prof. Irving Taylor Clinical Professor; Department of Targeted Intervention, UCL
Ellisa Bayer Senior Investment Director, Investec Wealth and Investment UK
Naomi Dickson Chief Executive, Jewish Women’s AidTuesday 8th September at 8 pm.
The United Synagogue's 150th Anniversary
Rabbi Geoffrey Shisler presents
A CELEBRATION OF THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE’S
CANTORIAL TRADITION: A TRIBUTE TO ITS
CHAZANIM (1870 TO 2020)
Their lives and their music
Cantor Shisler in 1984You can also read
