Business leaders unite to support Jewish Child’s Day

Prominent business leaders gathered in London’s Marylebone to support Jewish Child’s Day, the UK’s leading grant-giving charity for Jewish children.

The event featured Leo Pearlman, co-founder of Fulwell 73, the production company behind BBC documentary Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again about Hamas’s attack on the Nova Music Festival. Pearlman described it as “the toughest project I’ve ever worked on, [the one that] made me most proud, and the one I wish I never had to do.”

He was joined by journalist and antisemitism activist Nicole Lampert for an discussion on resilience, loss and the power of storytelling.

Jewish Child’s Day, established after World War Two as a one-day appeal for children displaced by the conflict, now supports over 25,000 young people annually. The charity’s commitment to rebuilding lives resonated deeply with the themes of the evening, inspiring attendees to continue championing its work.

Speaking to Jewish News, Adele Busse, head of grants at JCD, highlighted the impact of recent grants, which have funded rehabilitation accommodation for child cancer patients, portable paediatric beds for children with disabilities, and sensory rooms in schools.

She said: “In the last year we have tried to prioritise funding for Israeli charities, but we have been very mindful that we still want to maintain the support we’re giving in the UK, which has made our fundraising even more urgent.”

Charles Spungin, JCD’s chairman, said: “Jewish Child’s Day measures our success on the impact our grants have on Jewish children in need. This morning was a fantastic event to showcase our work with Nicole and Leo discussing both Leo’s phenomenal journey of progress and the sad necessity of their voices standing up against antisemitism.”