Esther Rantzen honoured at Jewish Care lunch
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Esther Rantzen honoured at Jewish Care lunch

Broadcaster, who founded The Silver Line, and Anne Webber, co-chair of Commission for Looted Art in Europe, named at Woman of Distinction Lunch

Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.

Dame Esther Rantzen, who was handed the award by Leah Phillips, a resident of Sidney Corob home. PIC: Blake Ezra Photography Ltd
Dame Esther Rantzen, who was handed the award by Leah Phillips, a resident of Sidney Corob home. PIC: Blake Ezra Photography Ltd

Broadcaster Esther Rantzen and art historian Anne Webber were named as award recipients at this year’s Jewish Care Woman of Distinction Lunch.

The event, which took place at the Institute of Directors yesterday, was attended by 180 women and helped raise £55,000 to help fund services and activities for residents of Jewish Care’s Sidney Corob House.

Dame Rantzen, who was handed the award by Leah Phillips, a resident of Sidney Corob home, was honoured for her work in founding ChildLine 30 years ago, as well as The Silver Line, a charitable organisation that launched four years ago as a confidential helpline for older people.

Speaking about her own personal struggle with loneliness, Rantzen said: “After my husband died, when I downsized from my house to a flat, I was living alone for the first time and I was lonely.

“There was nobody to talk to when I closed the door at night, no-one to sit on the sofa with, and no-one to ask me about my day.

Anne Webber, founder and co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, receives her award from Susan Schlaen, Sidney Corob House resident. PIC: Blake Ezra Photography
Anne Webber, founder and co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, receives her award from Susan Schlaen, Sidney Corob House resident. PIC: Blake Ezra Photography

“So I did what I always, do, I wrote to The Daily Mail, this time about the issue of loneliness and The Silver Line charity was born out of the response from the public.”

She went on to say: “Thank you for giving me this wonderful award. Really, I’m shining in the reflected glory of all the people whose skill, talent and dedication I’ve depended on, and that ladies and gentleman, includes you, because you’re here today celebrating and supporting a fantastically important cause.”

Anne Webber, the founder and co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, was also honoured in recognition of her work in restitution and helping to reunite the families of Holocaust refugees and survivors with possessions seized by the Nazis.

Her work inspired the 2015 film Woman In Gold, starring Helen Mirren.

On accepting the award from Susan Schlaen, Sidney Corob House resident, Webber said: “I’m immensely flattered to be in the company of all those remarkable women who have received the award in the past. It’s pretty special and I’m very honoured.

“It is a huge source of encouragement to receive this award from you and means a great deal.”

(C) Blake Ezra Photography Ltd, www.blakeezraphotography.com
Back row from left: Lisa Hilton, Danielle Lipton (co-chair), Anne Webber, Esther Rantzen DBE and Philippa Mintz (co-chair). Front row: Leah Phillips and Susan Schlaen (residents at Jewish Care’s Sidney Corob House). PIC: Blake Ezra Photography

Previous winners include Labour politician Oona King, entertainer and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax and philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley.

Sandra Saintus, manager of Sidney Corob House in West Hampstead, said: “As women who talk about mental health to local people in our community, it meant a lot to Susan and Leah to present awards to other women whose work for their community is being recognised.”

Mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin, who is also an ambassador for charity Jami, made the appeal at this year’s event.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: