More than £1million raised at World Jewish Relief dinner
BBC News presenter Emily Maitlis helps raise funds for charity which supports communities in eastern Europe
London’s Guildhall played host to 400 guests at the annual World Jewish Relief fundraising dinner on Monday evening, raising more than £1 million in the process.
Diners heard BBC News presenter Emily Maitlis explain how cyclists who rode 600 miles from Berlin to London for the anniversary of the Kindertransport raised more than £200,000 for the charity, whose predecessor organisation led the 1938-9 rescue efforts.
Jonathan Ornstein, director of the JCC Krakow, described the resurgence of Jewish life in a city devastated by the Holocaust, the centre having become “primary caregiver for more than 60 Holocaust survivors living in Krakow” but also “a hub for young Poles discovering their Judaism”.
The charity helps Jews and non-Jews across the world, with a focus on poor Jewish families in Eastern Europe, where it pays for home repairs, medicine, social networking and employment support.
WJR chair Dan Rosenfield said: “Celebrating our achievements is not enough. We will not be satisfied. We will instead be inspired to do more, to do better. We must and we will commit to finish the job we started, never to rest until we eradicate Jewish poverty for good.”
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.
