Report by President, Sharon Bannister, 10th may 2015

I am very proud to stand before you today and deliver my report at the end of my first year as your President. This report does not include everything that we have done, organised or been involved with over the last year – to do that would take too long. When I took up this position 12 months ago I said that I would be calling on you to support me and I am pleased to say that whenever I asked, people were always willing to help.

As you know, as I have said it often enough, I work and cannot attend all the functions that I am invited to. Even so, in the last year, I have attended over 85 events or meetings on your behalf. That does not include the monthly council executive and Honorary officers meetings. Thank you to all of those that stood in for me on the many occasions when I was unable to attend, I appreciate your support as it is important that we are represented.

Two people more than most will have realised the difficulty of a president that is working. They are Susan Daniels and Karen Finlay in the office. It must have been quite a difficult and different year for them – they had been used to the president being available when needed, a president just a phone call away. Well sometimes I am not a phone call away as when I am working I am often not contactable. This has been a challenge for both of them, so — thank you Susan and Karen, I know that it has not been easy and the reality is – you have another year of the same.

I have been very lucky; I have an excellent team around me. The 2 vice presidents Jonny Wineberg and Jacky Buchsbaum, the 2 Honorary secretaries Michael Rubinstein and Rabbi Arnold Saunders plus the experienced treasurer Phil Langer have all worked well together. It has been a pleasure chairing the monthly Honorary officers meetings and working with you all– thank you.

I want to pay tribute to the former presidents (in alphabetical order by surname) David Arnold, Frank Baigel, Lucille Cohen, Barbara Goldstone and Louis Rapaport. All have been willing to answer my many questions and offer their opinion on how I should approach certain issues. I confess, I did not always take all of the advice offered but I want you all to know that I appreciated the fact that you always responded, with Lucille even phoning me from Israel. Each president will do things in their own way and the benefit of having so many willing presidents available gave me a wide range of opinions to help me choose what I thought was the best way in any particular situation.

After saying all of those thank yous I am going to single out one person in particular, and by doing this I know that I stand the risk of offending others, for which I apologise, but I need to mention Barbara Goldstone. If I have attended over 85 engagements then Barbara has probably been to twice as many. I really do not know where she gets the time or energy nor do I know what this council would do if Barbara was not so active. Thank you Barbara – may you continue for many years.

I started the year slowly and May lulled me in to a false sense of security. I attended several communal events, meetings, lectures and dinners. I was enjoying myself and was really looking forward to my role as president. It seemed to be although time consuming – certainly enjoyable and manageable.

As I said May lulled me into a false sense of security. June saw the start of a very difficult period. We saw the desecration of gravestones at Blackley cemetery and you do not need me to remind you of the kidnap and subsequent murder of the three Israeli teenagers followed by the kidnap and murder of a Palestinian teenager. This was closely followed by the 50 day Israel-Gaza conflict – Operation Protective Edge. The aim was to stop the frequent indiscriminate firing of rockets from Gaza to Israel, by the 26^th August over 2,300 people had lost their lives and we mourn the loss of all those killed.

This was a very difficult and sad time for the whole community. Whenever there is an escalation of conflict in Israel we see an increase in Anti Semitism on our streets and this time was no exception. In Manchester we witnessed an increase in Pro Palestinian rallies.

We also saw an increase of the BDS, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. One shop in particular was targeted. Kedem on King St, it is a Jewish owned shop selling beauty products from Israel. The demonstrators stood outside that shop trying to prevent anyone from going in. They blocked the pavement, they had placards and banners with statement that were not true, they shouted at people and they intimidated passersby. . As I often say, I try to find a positive out of a negative. In the case of Kedem many people in this community came together and mounted a counter demonstration – There was a consequent greater community awareness and sense of belonging by a good number who have never been previously active, remaining so. Members of this community worked closely with both the Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council to find an acceptable solution as quickly as possible. The efforts of all involved is very much appreciated. An added and very welcome bonus is the announcement of two engagements of couples who met whilst countering the BDS – thank you!

On February 12 this year when I was travelling to a vigil in Manchester to remember the lives of those brutally murdered in Paris, just because of their job or because they were Jewish I became aware of a debate to take place in Westminster Hall 11 days later. The debate was triggered by an e-petition started in April 2014 by the BVA British Veterinary Association reaching 100,000 signatures “end non-stun slaughter to promote animal welfare” The threat to shechitah had reared its head again. I spoke to VP Jonny Wineberg and whilst in Albert Square we phoned Mohammed Amin, a co-chair of the Muslim Jewish forum. We discussed a counter petition and Amin agreed to set it up. The following morning at 8.00am our petition “Protect religious slaughter in the UK and EU”. was live and within two weeks we had over 125,000 signatures. This was a fantastic result, showed how different communities can achieve great steps when working together on a common cause and we were able to influence the debate that took place on 23^rd February.

We have been privileged in the last year to hear some extremely interesting guest speakers at our monthly meetings.

Stephen Niman has educated the council on the North Manchester Jewish Cemeteries Trust.

Nigel Grizzard informed us about the proposed Holocaust Centre at Huddersfield University.

Harris Frazer told us about Shabbat UK and how we could become involved.

Students for Change UK spoke to us about the difficulties on campus

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council informed us about the proposed new elected Mayor for Greater Manchester

Andrew Rosemarine, addressed the Council on ‘French Jewry under fire: Implications for UK Jews’.

Dr Jackie Lewis, Co-Chairman of Salford Healthy Communities Collaborative spoke about improving the health of the orthodox community in Salford and its outskirts, particularly in the area of Northumberland Street.

I chose not to have guest speakers at every meeting and to keep some dates back for reports from the 6 committees Finance and Fund raising, Publicity, PR, Education, Youth and Community and Anti-Semitism and Human Rights This gives the committee members and chairs the opportunity to inform this council of what they are doing, and gives you the opportunity to ask questions. Anybody interested in joining one of the committees please let the office know.

We have seen this year several proposals put to the council, where we have discussed, debated, argued, disagreed and eventually voted. This is part of the democratic process.

Talking of democracy, I would like to congratulate Ivan Lewis for being re-elected as Bury South MP. Ivan has worked tirelessly for this community and we are lucky to have his voice in the House of Commons.

Next Sunday I will get the opportunity to vote again, this time at the Board of Deputies. Every 3 years they vote for their officers. This time around, 3 people are standing for president, 6 are standing for the 3 positions of VP and 2 are standing for treasurer. My email inbox is full of their manifestos, my telephone has hardly stopped ringing and I am sure that it will be a lively meeting. One of the points that I have put to most of those standing is the need for better funding for this Representative Council.

This year our Yearbook has brought in well over £20,000. If you look at our accounts you will see that is the major part of our income and without those contributions I am unsure how we could possibly be able to operate. I thank Dr Sydney Baigel for his dedication and perseverance and also his team of committed volunteers.

Our annual Community Challenge quiz is an opportunity for organisations to come together and pit their wits against each other. Linda Jacobs and her team ensure that it is always a social success and I encourage you all to make sure that your organisation has a table for this year’s event.

Our Yom Hashoa Commemoration this year was held at Event City. The decision to hold it there was criticised by some but the fact that 1500 people attended demonstrated that it was a good decision. The programme on the night was, as always, very moving and informative and I would like to thank all of those involved in organising such a memorable evening.

One of my disappointments for this year is that we have not yet managed to change the constitution to enable us to move forward. As you will recall my predecessor Frank Baigel initiated a restructuring committee chaired by Ray Cook. The findings have been presented to this council and much discussion has taken place. We now know what we need – we know that we need to change; we know the revised new structure, we know that the new structure needs a new constitution but in order to change the constitution we are restrained by the existing one. I know that we have not yet achieved the change but I am pleased to say that we have found a real way forward and I hope that within the next couple of months we will achieve our aim. This will be a positive step to take us forward and to better meet the needs of our community.

Part of moving forward is modernising and part of that is the better use of Social Media. We really were behind the times! In the last 12 months Adam Ross has willingly tried to drag us into the realms of modern technology. He has created our very own Facebook page where we are able to publicise our events and highlight important pieces of information to and about the Manchester Jewish Community. He also has other ideas that he is developing. Thanks Adam, I really appreciate your support.

I was very fortunate to be on holiday in South America earlier this year. I started my travels in Argentina, – a few weeks before I left the UK I noticed on a Facebook page that one of the contributors lived in Buenos Aires. Barbara Laufer. I contacted her and asked her for suggestions for my trip in her city. I also said that I would like visit to visit the site of the community centre bombing in 1994 which killed 85 people and injured 100’s more. She organised this for me and arranged for a meeting with Victor Garelik, Director of DAIA (our Board of Deputies) and Esteban Silnik the director of DAC (our equivalent of CST). We had a very open and honest meeting discussing the issues and threats facing our communities. Barbara very kindly agreed to be our translator and part way through the meeting she asked me what my maiden name was. Astonishingly we found that we knew each other as children, went to the same primary school and used to play in each other’s homes. We went to different secondary schools so drifted apart. The wonders of Facebook and the value of social media.

Succession planning is a vital part of any organisation. A few weeks ago I was delighted to attend 2 presentations – one in London and the other in Manchester. The presentations were by young adults in our communities; they had all been identified as potential leaders and had been participating in training for over 12 months. Both evenings, although different were inspirational and I feel confident that the future of our communal organisations and communities will be safe in their hands.

This year we have unfortunately seen the passing of 4 of our delegates. John Myers, Lord Barnett, Eve Bolchover and only last week Harry Lesser. Over the years they all worked tirelessly for this community and our council. We would have been a poorer place without their efforts. I wish their families a long life.

At the opposite end of the age scale we have been fortunate to hear of the births of 14 grand children or great grand children to our delegates so Mazeltov to you all.

It has been my pleasure to be your president, to represent you at the Board of Deputies and JLC, to work in partnership with various organisations on issues that effect us all, to attend functions on your behalf and to stand in front of you at our monthly meetings

I want to express my appreciation for the support of my husband Dave. He is not always by my side as I have asked him not to be there. We have been married for almost 40 years and he has had a lot to put up with. He has become used to me shouting, as I walk through the door, that I am going to a meeting will be back at 9.45. My dinner is then on the table when I get home. I would not have been able to take on this role without his support and I cannot say how much I appreciate him.

In this report I have deliberately tried to avoid mentioning any of our constituent organisations in whom each of the delegates has a special interest and any other groups, congregations, clubs, societies or committees, for fear of omitting those who do deserve special mention. However I feel I must make an exception by thanking, once again and as always, the excellent CST for their tireless work on behalf of the entire community. Their volunteers provide a valuable and very much appreciated presence at so many locations on so many occasions.

And finally, I will finish by saying thank you to all of you here and in the community, whether a delegate or not, whether affiliated to an organisation or not, that month in and month out give your time freely and willingly to support and benefit this Jewish Community. Thank you!