ROUND-UP
NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT
JEWS ARE STEPPING STONES
TO ISLAMIST EXTREMISM
JOIN UK POLICE FORCE,
URGES CHIEF RABBI MIRVIS
Speaking at the recent annual conference for UK rabbis, Rabbi Ephraim
Mirvis encouraged more Jewish men and women to join the country’s
police force. He said, “British Jews should be part of that protection
force, for all of our society.” His comments followed a briefing by Sir
Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, who told
the rabbis of the terror threat facing Britain. Sir Bernard, Britain’s leading
officer, had told the 150 rabbis at Finchley Synagogue, in north London,
that the terror threat was “severe” and that it was understandable the
Jewish community felt “vulnerable”. He asked rabbis to encourage congregants to report anti-Semitic attacks to the police.
“Anti-Semitism is not a normal thing, it is a bad thing. We do know
people don’t tell us about everything. We do our best to encourage reporting,” he said.
Referring to the local Shomrim security group volunteers wearing
police-style uniforms and driving cars with fluorescent markings, he
added: “I have to be frank; I would like them not to look like police officers. We are having a discussion about that and I’m sure we will get to
a positive resolution.”
6 JEWISH LIFE QISSUE 87
MICHELLE OBAMA’S COUSIN
DECLARED BLACK CHIEF RABBI
BY ISRAELITE BOARD OF RABBIS
Rabbi Capers Funnye from Chicago has been
declared “black chief rabbi” by the International
Israelite Board of Rabbis, a US-based umbrella body
for black Jewry. Rabbi Funnye, who converted to
Judaism, is a cousin of US first lady Michelle Obama,
and is expected to assume his position in the
US autumn. The community has branches in the
Caribbean, South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria, as well
as the US.
The new incumbent aims to build closer ties with
the Ethiopian Jewish community that was moved to
Israel. He met prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on a previous visit to Israel. Black Hebrew Israelites
are not recognised by the mainstream Jewish community unless they undergo a certified conversion.
PHOTOGRAPHS: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM; WIKIPEDIA.ORG
T EX T C OM P I L E D B Y L I Z S A M UE L S
British prime minister David Cameron warned of
extremists who believe that “Jews exercise malevolent power” and who engage in conspiracy theories
that Mossad was behind the 11 September terror
attacks in 2001. In a major speech in Birmingham
last month, Cameron outlined a five-year plan to
combat Islamist extremism, which will see the British government “confront, head on, the extreme
ideology” behind terrorist actions. He said the fiveyear plan would involve tackling violent and nonviolent extremism, using anti-Israel rhetoric as an
example. Expanding the government’s intention, he
said if people stated violence in London isn’t justified, but suicide bombs in Israel are a different matter, then “you too are part of the problem”. Speaking
about those who have been convicted in the UK of
planning terror attacks, Cameron said: “It may begin
with hearing about the so-called Jewish conspiracy
and then develop into hostility to the West and
fundamental liberal values, before finally becoming a cultish attachment to death.” Cameron also
spoke about the failure of some ethnic minorities to
integrate into British society. “For all our successes
as a multi-racial, multi-faith democracy, we have to
confront a tragic truth that there are people born
and raised in this country who don’t really identify
with Britain and feel little or no attachment to other
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