Synagogues open their doors for congregants to make use of air conditioning
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Synagogues open their doors for congregants to make use of air conditioning

The United Synagogue has opened at least three sites — St John’s Wood, Finchley (Kinloss) and South Hampstead – so people can escape the record temperatures.

2JHHAGT London, UK.  18 July 2022.  UK Weather ? A boy views the sunset at Northala Fields near Northolt in west London on a day when temperatures rose to 38C.  The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has increased its heat health warning to level 4, a ?national emergency? and the Met Office has issued its first red warning for much of England with temperatures expected to rise to 41C tomorrow. Credit: Stephen Chung / Alamy Live News
2JHHAGT London, UK. 18 July 2022. UK Weather ? A boy views the sunset at Northala Fields near Northolt in west London on a day when temperatures rose to 38C. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has increased its heat health warning to level 4, a ?national emergency? and the Met Office has issued its first red warning for much of England with temperatures expected to rise to 41C tomorrow. Credit: Stephen Chung / Alamy Live News

Synagogues are opening their doors during the unprecedented heatwave so people can make use of their air conditioning.

The United Synagogue has opened at least three sites — St John’s Wood, Finchley (Kinloss) and South Hampstead for congregants to cool down.

US communications director Richard Verber said that weekly services were unaffected and had continued as normal, and that the US Chesed weekly food parcel operation, for members and families in need, was also going ahead as before.

But, he said, “extra calls are being made to the most vulnerable in the community. Our cemeteries remain open and we have tried to hold funerals in the cooler parts of the day, with people staying in the prayer halls as much as possible. Staff rotas have been re-jigged to allow people to work in the shade on a regular basis, and there are shorter shifts for the burial ground staff. We are doing all we can to be there for our members, despite the challenging weather”.

The JCC North London’s Levi Schapiro reported that “a good deed each day keeps the doctor away”. JCC volunteers had spent many hours on Monday and Tuesday “handing out fresh ices and cold drinks” to staff and patients in three big London hospitals — the Royal Free, the Royal London, and Hackney City. The volunteers also went to police stations on the same mission on Tuesday, and to emergency staff in A and E departments.

New North London Synagogue cancelled its after school club for Ukrainian children on Tuesday because of the heat. But the Masorti synagogue offered its largest space to the children of Akiva school, which shares the campus, because there is air-conditioning in the NNLS building.

The Movement for Reform Judaism reported “business as usual”, although it is understood that Edgwarebury Cemetery, which caters for both Reform and Liberal burials — and some Sephardi burials, too — closed early on both days of extreme heat.

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: