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London Firefighters Scold British
Synagogue for Lighting Holiday Bonfire
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London’s fire and rescue service reminded Jewish
congregations to keep holiday bonfires outdoors
after the city’s Jewish News outlet shared video of
a synagogue celebrating Lag B’Omer on May 9 with
an indoor fire, JTA.org reported.

The video showed a fire raging inside Beis Medrash
Beis Shmuel, a haredi Orthodox synagogue in Golders
Green, a heavily Jewish neighborhood of London.

An indoor fire at Beis
The congregation purportedly started the fire
Medrash Beis Shmuel
indoors because of rainy local conditions on the
holiday. Under traditional Jewish law, Lag B’Omer is the one day in the mourning period
between Passover and Shavuot on which observant Jews are permitted to do
certain things such as get a haircut or hold weddings. Bonfires often mark the
celebratory day.

“Though we are keen to see communities enjoying the festival of Lag B’Omer,
we don’t want to see anyone harmed as a result. You should never build a bonfire
indoors,” the London Fire Brigade told the Jewish News.

Financial advice from a
knowledgeable neighbor.

Israel to Invest $40M in North American Jewish Day Schools
Citing “a major crisis in Jewish education,” Israel’s Diaspora ministry plans to pour
about $40 million into training educators at Jewish schools in the United States and
Canada, JTA.org reported.

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister of Diaspora affairs, announced the initiative, called
“Aleph Bet” after the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, on May 15. He hopes
enrollment will increase at Jewish day schools, fearing that “we are losing large parts
of the Jewish people,” and said the initiative would “focus on training teachers for
Jewish education and Israel studies as well as principals for Jewish day schools,”
according to The Jerusalem Post.

Chikli did not elaborate on how his ministry would spend the allocation, nor did he
detail when funds could start making their way into North American Jewish schools.

His office did not respond to a request for comment. Israel’s governing coalition
plans to approve a state budget next week, ahead of a May 29 deadline.

North American Jewish schools have received varying levels of Israeli government
support for years, according to Paul Bernstein, CEO of Prizmah, a nonprofit support-
ing Jewish day schools. He said staff members of day schools were optimistic about
the additional funding despite lacking details about where it would go.

E. Matthew Steinberg
Managing Director – Investments
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

165 Township Line Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046
(215) 576-3015
matthew.steinberg@opco.com Serving Investors in
Philadelphia and
South Jersey for 28 Years
Forbes is not affiliated with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Transacts Business on All Principal
Exchanges and Member SIPC. 4504954.1
Screenshot from @JewishNewsUK/Twitter
Endangered Seal Became a Celebrity on an Israeli Beach
For nearly a week, Israel’s latest unlikely celebrity lounged on the Jaffa beach, draw-
ing throngs of onlookers, constant media attention and round-the-clock protection
from the government as she sunbathed and slept the day away, JTA.org reported.

Then on May 16, the unwitting star named Yulia — a rare 6-foot species of seal
weighing hundreds of pounds who has traveled the eastern Mediterranean — waded
into the water and swam away. She left no sign of whether she would ever return.

Her departure has left some residents bereft and others hopeful that she may find
a safer home than a bare beach with little shelter, other animals and litter. News of
her departure spread quickly through the area’s social media and WhatsApp groups,
one of which had even changed its name from “Friends of Jaffa” to “Friends of Yulia.”
“Of course, I know she’s not smiling, but her lips are formed in a way that makes
her look like she is. She’s so utterly calm — even while a million people are watching
her,” said Aya Zaken, a resident of the ancient city adjacent to Tel Aviv, who added
that she was “deeply sad” that Yulia had returned to the sea. ■
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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