IN PICTURES: Chief Rabbi honoured with freedom of borough of Barnet
The Chief Rabbi has described being honoured with the freedom of the borough of Barnet as “recognition for our community”.
Ephraim Mirvis followed in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher and his predecessor Lord Sacks in receiving the accolade at a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests in Hendon on Tuesday.
He said: “I see this as essentially an honour for our community. This is very special for us and I treasure that recognition is given for the contribution the community gives to the borough in so many ways.”
The motion for the award, put forward last year by Councillor Eva Greenspan and passed unanimously, spoke of his contribution to the “borough, nationally and internationally to the enhancement of the Jewish community and the promotion of interfaith understanding and community cohesion”.
Addressing the ceremony attended by Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers, Council leader Richard Cornelius described the honour as “our highest mark of esteem and joked: “Barnet does not have the special hangman’s rope for freemen, right of passage for flocks of sheep over bridges – perhaps we should introduce special priority for turning right at Henlys corner or, to adapt someone else`s idea, a permit to double park on double yellow lines.”
He thanked the chief rabbi for helping to “still the anxiety” following the Paris attacks and welcomed the opportunity to reaffirm what importance of the Jewish community with the “Barnet family”.
After musical entertainment from children from the Sacks Morasha Jewish Primary School, Labour group leader Alison Moore said she didn’t know the chief rabbi well enough to describe him as a “feminist” but hailed his appointment of the first Orthodox female halachic advisor while still minister at Finchley United and his active support for Jewish Women’s Aid.
The chief rabbi – only the 21st freeman of the borough – praised the borough’s commitment to education and added it’s “always lovely to know that the place where we live is a place where we and the community fee totally at home”.
[AFG_gallery id=’99’]
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.
