VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS: Mazeltov Ella, but you ain’t seen nothing yet!

So it’s a hearty and merited mazeltov to the UJS’ inspiring president Ella Rose for topping a prestigious pile in the Jewish News-Jewish Leadership Council’s inaugural Twenty-Five Under 25 countdown.

The past three weeks have underscored, once again, how our vibrant community is blessed with exceptional young people – role models not just for British Jews but the entire country.

However, in the immortal words of 1970s rock gods Bachman-Turner Overdrive, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

After our tantalising hors-d’oeuvre comes the magnificent main course in the shape of our second Forty Under 40 list, five years after Elliot Goldstein topped the original 2010 countdown.

But to build up the anticipation just a little longer, this week we celebrate the ‘close but no cigar’ contenders who impressed the socks off of our esteemed panel but, like Nadine Coyle’s solo career, didn’t quite make the top 40.

The panel began with a longlist of more than 250 names, so settling on a final 40 meant reluctantly discarding more than 200 truly outstanding individuals – a fraction of whom we celebrate today.

Next week we reveal numbers 40 to 31 in our official list, while the issue of 23 April features those from 30 to 21.

On 30 April, we announce positions 20 to 11 before publishing a special souvenir pull-out supplement containing the full top 40 list – including those coveted position from 10 to number one – on 7 May!