Shiva for Liz Goldberg

Picture of Liz taken by Vicki Vinopal Williams 1987

Our dear friend and colleague Liz Goldberg sadly passed away on 25 December 2013. Meretz UK feels bereft at this loss. We miss Liz and her effervescent spirit so much. And we invite you to a Shiva memorial for Liz

Sunday 12 January, 8 pm

• Hashomer House, 37a Broadhurst Gardens NW6 3QT
• Nearest tube: Finchley Road.

All who knew Liz are warmly welcome.
RSVP 0794 297 8780

May her memory be for a blessing
זכרונה לברכה

More tributes to follow...

Thank you for everyone who was involved with The Jews of Sudan - The longest kiss in history Screening Last Saturday night.

Thank you to the Director, Frederique Cifuentes Morgan, and  movie consultant Lawrence Joffe

Thank you to Spiro Ark , our collaborators for this event

And for all of you who attended even from far as Reading!  absolutely packed our  venue  and made it such a warm ,beautiful,  interactive event.
More to come.
Wishing you a mary Xmas and a happy new year.

The Jews of Sudan - The Longest Kiss in History

Meretz UK and Spiro Ark are proud to present this film

• Saturday evening, 7th December, 8 pm start (not as was published at JC!)
• Hashomer House, 37a Broadhurst Gardens, NW6 3QT
• Contributions: £10... with refreshments 

Screening followed by discussion with filmmaker Frederique Cifuentes Morgan and consultant Lawrence Joffe


The Jews of Sudan - The Longest Kiss in History


Where the Blue and the White Nile meet is known as the longest kiss in history. This is where the story of the Jews in the Sudan starts with eight Jewish families living under Egyptian-Turkish rule before 1880. In 1977 a group of Jewish people, having fled persecution in the Sudan during the 60’s, organized a highly secret mission to transfer the buried remains in the Jewish cemetery and the Torah Scrolls from Khartoum to Jerusalem.

This film reveals the unusual journey of the sacred books from the Sudan to show how this most enigmatic community has kept its identity. In Frederique Cifuentes Morgan's outstanding film we witness history told by those that experienced it at firsthand. Jews of Sudan chronicles life under the Mahdi, the effect of British imperialism on the community and the eventual exile and deliberate obliteration of all signs of Judaism in the Sudan.

For a clip from the film, see here
See also this review by Sam Warshaw in Momentmag
And this link to our colleagues at Spiro Ark

The remarkable 3,000-year story of the Jews of Iraq - as told by a Muslim Iraqi expert

Meretz UK is proud to announce a fascinating, informative and entertaining illustrated talk by Nabil al-Haidari, London-based Iraqi-born academic and researcher on interfaith dialogue, Islam and the Middle East.

Nabil is currently writing a book on Jewish Iraqi history. Drawing on his profound knowledge, his presentation shares vignettes from the Babylonian captivity and tales of Queen Esther, to the writing of the Talmud, the heyday of Abbasid Baghdad and the 20th century, when Jews enlivened Iraqi cultural life, especially music, and served as finance ministers and other high positions.

• On Sunday, 17 November – 8pm
• At Hashomer House, 37a Broadhurst Gardens, London NW6
• Entrance contributions: £5 and concessions
• Refreshments served after question time

Two tales of courage…

It takes chutzpah to chide the head of your country on a matter of principle – and  determination to change his mind! Yet such was the case when Iraqi President Jalal Talabani invited Nabil al-Haidari to address an interfaith conference in Sulaymaniyyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, on 21-22 November 2012.

At that conference Nabil decried the absence of Jews from the proceedings and courageously insisted that
participants acknowledge the Jewish role in Iraqi history. He also made three bold proposals:

1. Adding Judaism as a recognised religion within the Iraqi constitution.
2. Granting parliamentary seats to Jewish minority in line with other religions of Iraq.
3. Returning Jews’ money and properties sequestered or confiscated by previous Iraqi governments.

To his pleasant surprise the president accepted his pleas and conference adopted all three statements in its
closing declaration. Since then Nabil has written in several British papers about these issues.

Iraqi Jews trace their roots back 3,000 years and constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically
significant Jewish communities. Using pictures of nobles, monarchs, rabbis, humble workers and even a beauty queen, Nabil will show how Jews contributed immeasurably to the fabric of Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Ottoman and 20th century Iraqi society.

Despite their sad mass departure from Iraq around 1949, Iraq’s Jews have since spread to Israel, London, Paris, New York and even Singapore, maintaining traditions that Nabil, who has been invited to lecture in 40 countries, vividly brings to life.