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| London’s Trafalgar Square hosts Jewish celebration
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Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, speaking at "Simcha on the Square"
Photo: Jonny Paul
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A celebration of Jewish life in Britain was held in Trafalgar Square, central London, on Sunday, showcasing an array of Jewish music.
“Simcha on the Square” was organised as part of a year long celebration of events to mark 350 years of the UK Jewish community.
Organised by the Jewish Music Institute (JMI), an independent arts body based at the University of London, with the support of the Office of the Mayor of London, the celebration was open to all of London’s residents and visitors.
A wide array of Jewish music graced the stage, from the eastern European act, She’koyokh Klezmer Ensemble to the Sephardi melodies of Los Desterrados.
The Three Cantors – Steven Leas, Gedalia Alexander and Jonathan Murgraff together with the London Jewish Male Choir and the Ronnie Scott Legacy Quartet paid tribute to the late legendary maestros of Jazz.
Israeli Ladino diva Mor Karbasi and violinist Sophie Solomon, with her band, Oi Va Voi, performed a wide array of world music – Jewish Style and Rivers of Babylon played Iraqi Jewish music while British International klezmer clarinettist Merlin Shepherd delighted the large number of people gathered in the afternoon sunshine.
Communal integration
Geraldine Auerbach, director of the JMI and organiser of the event, said: “What could be more symbolic of the community’s integration in the life of the capital than klezmer bands and cantors performing under Nelson’s Column?”
The stage also featured wedding band Neshema, the famous Jewish Lad’s and Girls Brigade, as well as the Jewish Youth Choir and the Oranim and Nitzanim dance troupes.
A mass shofar blowing also took place culminating in a shofar solo of ‘Rule Britannia’. Visitors were also able to taste a range of Jewish food, from borscht to blinitzes, that heralded from London’s top koshers restaurants.
There were also stalls and an exhibition where people were able to follow the story of Jewish immigration and understand the cultural activity of many of the Jewish organisations that bind the British Jewish community.
Tony Lerman, director, Institute of Jewish Policy Research, welcomed Simcha on the Square, he said: “This event is great news. It is so valuable to have a high profile Jewish cultural event open and free to the public to celebrate 350 years of Jewish life in Britain.”
Livingstone not present
Although the Office of the Mayor of London contributed funds to the event, the Mayor was not invited following many years of strained relations with the British Jewish community
Instead, Deputy Mayor of London, Nicky Gavron attended the event. In her speech she talked about the huge contribution Jews have made to the UK and ended by saying, “We should only meet at simchas”.
Last week the Board of Deputies of British Jews accused the Mayor’s office of insensitivity after it issued a press release highlighting the amount of the Mayor’s funding for the event.
The statement said: “The Mayor has provided £60,000 in funding for events to mark the 350th anniversary of Oliver Cromwell’s invitation to Jews to return to Britain.”
Henry Grunwald, president of the Board, said: “His insistence on issuing a press release associating himself with the event in person against the reported wishes of the organisers, shows a lack of sensitivity and understanding at the pain it has caused.”
In an apparent reference to the incident last year where Livingstone compared a Jewish journalist to a “concentration camp guard” and then refused to apologise, Grunwald added: “Sadly, the Mayor’s track record of giving offence to the Jewish community, and failing to apologise, inevitably means this gesture will be seen merely as an attempt at rehabilitating his credibility without any guarantee that he won’t cause further offence in the future.”
Simcha on the Square is part of a yearlong programme of events that included exhibitions, lectures and concerts marking the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in Britain.
In June, Prime Minister Tony Blair joined community leaders, dignitaries and representatives from different faiths and walks of British public life at a special service to mark the anniversary at the Bevis Marks Synagogue, London’s 305 year-old synagogue in London’s financial district.
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