Emma Barnett leads Jews rallying behind World Jewish Relief at London dinner
Broadcaster shares refugee story as charity raises millions amid war, displacement and rising global antisemitism
Leading figures from across Britain’s Jewish community gathered in London on Monday night to raise vital funds for World Jewish Relief, as the charity warned of unprecedented global need driven by war, displacement and rising antisemitism.
The annual fundraising dinner, held at the Roundhouse on the eve of the four-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, brought together more than 600 guests to support the charity’s humanitarian work in 19 countries.
The evening was hosted by broadcaster and journalist Emma Barnett, who spoke movingly about her personal connection to World Jewish Relief, revealing that her grandmother escaped Nazi-occupied Austria in 1939 with the charity’s help.
“A week later, and she may not have made it to safety. So, when I say I am in a great part here this evening because of World Jewish Relief, I mean it,” Barnett told guests.
She added that discovering her grandmother’s records in the charity’s archives brought home the organisation’s historic and ongoing role in saving lives: “Her experience is proof that this organisation responded to the needs of the Jewish community in the darkest of times.”
Maurice Helfgott, chair of the World Jewish Relief, warned that antisemitism is once again shaping Jewish life in Britain and beyond, insisting the response must be rooted in Jewish values and outward-facing action.
“Here at home – and around the world – antisemitism is resurgent – in all its nasty forms, old and new,” he said.
“So, our response is to turn up the volume on the ‘J’ in World Jewish Relief – to reach even more vulnerable Jews around the world and, publicly and proudly, to help more people beyond the Jewish community.”
Helfgott also paid tribute to the charity’s royal patron, King Charles III, highlighting his recent attendance at a refugee employment fair hosted by the organisation at St James’s Palace.
World Jewish Relief chief executive Paul Anticoni OBE told the dinner that global humanitarian pressures are now at their most severe in decades, particularly in Ukraine, where the charity has supported more than 384,000 people across hundreds of towns and cities.
“I can say sadly – but with certainty – that the situation in the world right now is one of the most perilous I have seen in my 20 years at World Jewish Relief,” he said. “I find it intolerable – unbreakable – that right now I can only repair a fraction of Jewish homes destroyed by missiles in Ukraine.”
Anticoni also highlighted the charity’s work supporting refugees in the UK through its award-winning Specialist Training and Employment Programme (STEP), which has helped more than 14,000 Ukrainian refugees learn English and find work.
The evening featured performances by Olivier Award-nominated musician Raphael Papo, the fiddler from the London production of Fiddler on the Roof, alongside pianist Ljubica Stonjanović. Barnett reflected on the symbolism of the music, telling guests: “I can feel that struggle, the resilience, the Jewishness of it in my bones.”
Among those attending were Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Lady Valerie Mirvis, Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky of Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, and Sir Clive Alderton KCVO, the King’s private secretary, Alison McGovern, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness, was also present.
In recent years, the annual dinner has raised millions of pounds to fund humanitarian aid across the world. This year’s event underscored the charity’s enduring mission – to turn Jewish memory into responsibility, and communal solidarity into life-saving action.
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