Catch up with our online events
Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010
Join us for a fascinating talk with author Pam Fox as she delves into her latest book, Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010. Discover the rich history of Bloom’s, the beloved restaurant and manufacturing firm that became an icon of Jewish cuisine in London. From its humble beginnings to its rise as a celebrated institution, Pam Fox explores the stories, people, and cultural significance behind this legendary establishment. Whether you’re a history buff, a food enthusiast, or simply love a good tale of tradition and transformation, this talk is not to be missed. Come and relive the nostalgia of Bloom’s and its lasting impact on the culinary world.
To buy Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010 click here
The Passover Bunny, Losing the Beer Goddess, and The Argentine Matzah Problem: Seder Gems from Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah
Dr Jon Greenberg will introduce the Torah Flora biblical and talmudic botany program and Fruits of Freedom, a Passover Hagadah with a commentary from the perspective of the history of Jewish food and agriculture. He will be looking at the importance of beer and bread in ancient Egyptian religion, and how the Ten Plagues and the Exodus discredited this mythology, the real-life Passover bunny, the solution to a collision between science and Torah in an Argentinian matzah bakery, and the heroic determination of our Roman-era ancestors to reconcile Talmudic environmentalism with Passover observance.
Dr. Jon Greenberg, author of TorahFlora.org, received his bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Brown University and his Master’s and Doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He has also studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel’s Yeshivat Hamivtar and conducted research on corn, alfalfa, and soybeans at Cornell, the US Department of Agriculture, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cancer Research. Since 1989, he has been a science teacher and educational consultant. Dr. Greenberg was Senior Editor of science textbooks at Prentice Hall Publishing Co. Previously on the faculty of Yeshivas Ohr Yosef, the School of Education at Indiana University, and the University of Phoenix, he taught at the Heschel School from 2008 to 2024. In 2021, he published Fruits of Freedom, a Passover Hagadah with a commentary from the perspective of the history of Jewish food and agriculture. He is a frequent speaker at synagogues, schools, and botanical gardens. Dr. Greenberg can be contacted at jon@torahflora.org.
Everyday Jews
‘Can Jews be boring? On the value of everyday Jewishness’
Particularly at this moment, Jews are subject to extraordinary scrutiny and fascination. Our friends and our enemies are in awe of our significance. This intense interest risks ‘hollowing out’ Jewish life so that only our public existence remains. Drawing on his new book Everyday Jews: Why the Jewish people are not who you think they are , Keith Kahn-Harris will make the case for Jews embracing their mundane, parochial and ‘everyday’ side. Jews can be as boring as anyone else and, right now, non-Jews need to be confronted with this side of Jewish existence
‘Dr Keith Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and writer. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and a Senior Lecturer at Leo Baeck College. Everyday Jews is his ninth book
The Hebrew Teacher
Three Israeli women, their lives altered by immigration to the United States, seek to overcome crises. llana is a veteran Hebrew instructor at a Midwestern college who has built her life around her career. When a young Hebrew literature professor joins the faculty, she finds his post-Zionist politics pose a threat to her life’s work. Miriam, whose son left Israel to make his fortune in Silicon Valley, pays an unwanted visit to meet her new grandson and discovers cracks in the family’s perfect façade. Efrat, another Israeli in California, is determined to help her daughter navigate the challenges of middle school, and crosses forbidden lines when she follows her into the minefield of social media. In these three stirring novellas-comedies of manners with an ambitious blend of irony and sensitivity-celebrated Israeli author Maya Arad probes the demise of idealism and the generation gap that her heroines must confront.
In Conversation with Lord Mann of Holbeck Moor HM Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism
January 2025 marked a significant milestone with the launch of the Board of Deputies’ Commission on Antisemitism, a vital initiative addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time. We are delighted to announce that one of its Chairs, Lord John Mann, will return to Milim for an insightful evening of discussion.
Join us as Lord Mann, HM Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism, and Simon Myerson KC, Chair of the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, explore the work of this landmark commission. Together, they will delve into the ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism, the challenges faced by communities today, and the importance of education and advocacy in fostering a safer and more inclusive society.
Lord Mann is a powerful voice in the fight against antisemitism, and his commitment to tackling prejudice is unwavering. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear firsthand about the vital work being undertaken and engage in a conversation about some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Mindele’s Journey: A Memoir of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust
Giving a voice to those who were silenced. Brooklyn, N.Y. – Nicknamed “the wanderer” Mariette Bermowitz, author of “Mindele’s Journey: Memoir of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust” writes for us and for herself, her need to hold onto treasured fragments of her past.
The refrain, “Do you remember?” fills the pages as Mariette wanders, flees and returns to so many lives: as a Jewish child, as a Catholic, as a free-spirit in Brooklyn, as a wife, girlfriend, daughter. In 1942 when Mindele was four years old her mother and four siblings were deported to concentration camps while she was miraculously rescued and placed in a convent, then spent the remaining war years with a family in the Belgian countryside. When her father returned to claim her, she no longer recognized him. Living in post war Brussels, a world filled with despair for the Jews who survived, was when “the war after the war” began for her.
“My story is a testament to a guiding force instilled in me by the nuns who sheltered me during the war,” Bermowitz says. “I know what it’s like to give up hope, but something always drove me on”
Managing the Bad Boys of Snooker: Jimmy White and Alex Higgins ( and a lot more)
For Harvey Lisberg the best rewards of writing his memoir “I’m Into Something Good” and later reformatting it for the niche excerpt ‘Managing the Bad Boys of Snooker’ were the wonderful reviews, podcasts, personal appearances, and broadcasts, and then rekindling old friendships as a result.
As Harvey says: “Now, I am in daily contact with Jimmy White and share a weekly football bet with him on the understanding it is the only betting we do; we are born again recovering gamblers! Jimmy asked me to negotiate a film deal for his upcoming biopic starring Ray Winston which may be bittersweet as I spent a considerable amount of time on lyrics to a new song. “Jimmy, Jimmy White” I love that song . It has been great reconnecting with Jimmy because I get to re-live the ‘snooker years’.
The snooker players (Jimmy White & Alex Higgins) were way more rock ‘n roll than the rock ‘n roll stars (Herman’s Hermits &10cc) and there’s huge irony in that but it true! Some of the stories are just irresistible so I decided to write them into a book – enjoy!”
Kosher Code: Bringing Jewish Ethics to Artificial Intelligence
Everyone is talking about AI – will it take jobs? Will it ruin education? Is it set to make people dumber? Or is a gift whose timing is perfect to help heal our fractured world? This fascinating talk explores AI from a Jewish Ethics perspective, providing a completely original view on the tool that is set to change the lives of just about everyone on the planet. Jonathan Gabay has over 4 decades of experience in public relations, advertising and marketing. He is the author of 17 books and an accredited journalist. Currently, Jonathan specialises in AI and digital marketing. He is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is asked to consult on AI for businesses of all sizes. Jonathan is a proud advocate for Israel.
The Jews of Lithuania: A Journey Through the Long Twentieth Century
Nick Sayers talks about his book which is the result of a personal quest to understand more about his family background in eastern Europe. It leads him to dig deeply into many of the big questions about modern Jewish history in Lithuania
It's on the Meter: One Taxi, Three Mates and 43,000 Miles of Misadventures around the World
When three friends – Paul, Johno and Leigh – clicked ‘buy’ on an iconic London cab, little did they know what they were letting themselves in for. Leaving the Big Smoke in their taxi bound for Sydney, the lads began a 43,000-mile trip that would take them off the beaten track to some of the most dangerous and deadly places on earth. By the time they arrived home, they would manage against all the odds to circumnavigate the globe and break two world records. From altercations with the Iranian secret police to narrowly escaping the Taliban, the trio’s adventure is filled with hair-raising escapades. Feel the fear, revel in the fun and meet some of the hundred passengers the taxi picked up along the way, as the authors take you on their action-packed journey. Walking the Wharfe: An ode to a Yorkshire river In a world of globetrotting explorers and record-breaking journeys – of which he has been part himself – Johno Ellison decided to return to his roots and walk the entire length of the River Wharfe, the Yorkshire waterway beside which he grew up. In his new book for Bradt, Walking the Wharfe, Ellison retraces the steps of Victorian author Edmund Bogg to investigate how the riverscape and its communities have evolved during the intervening 120 years. While wild camping, meeting modern-day Vikings, wartime ghosts and the fearless ‘Dales Dippers’, and learning how not to deal with a herd of over-inquisitive cows, Ellison encounters a microcosm of English history and culture.
Counting the Stars - Jews in Space
In space nobody can hear you scream, but they can hear you kvetch.’ From Leonard Nimoy’s Vulcan salute to the Soviet cosmonaut, from Levi Ben Gerson to William Herschel and Carl Sagan, Jews have made a contribution to all things astronomical. Tony Zendle has gathered together many of the stories that relate to Jews’ involvement; their role in science fiction; as astronauts; as astronomers, and the talk will reflect that, but more than that you will learn about how salt beef and bagels went into space, about the Nazi Daleks, and along the way some issues that have clouded the fictional element of the tales. Tony’s latest book is “Counting the Stars”, a book of two halves. Real Jews in Real Space, and Unreal Jews in Unreal Space. Real Jews – the astronomers who opened up, and continue to explore our understanding of the Cosmos; the people who enabled man to go to Space, both Russian and American. Unreal Jews – Space Opera, Space Theatre, and not just Star Trek and Spock’s salute, but also Dr Who, and the Jewish authors of science fiction; indeed the man who coined the term science fiction.
United Nations, Israel and 7th October
As part of “Leeds Remembers 7th October’, Prof Rosa Freedman of the the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism returns to Milim a for a special talk
Dogfight over Sinai: The day Israeli Spitfires shot down five RAF Spitfires
In the very last hours of Israel’s War of Independence, in January Join Yanky Fachler and learn about the day in 1949, an aerial dogfight involving Spitfires took place in the skies above the Sinai Desert. The Spitfire dogfight was not between Israeli and Egyptian aircraft, but between the fledgling Israeli Air Force and the RAF. The score: 5 nil.
Melting Point
Melting Point is the story of the forgotten search for an alternative to Palestine. Rachel Cockerell’s great-grandfather was part of a group of rebel Zionists who said “If we cannot get the Holy Land, we can make another land holy.” They scoured the earth for a temporary Promised Land, from Australia to Angola to Antarctica, and eventually led 10,000 Russian Jews to Galveston, Texas. The book is told entirely through first-hand accounts, weaving together letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles and interviews.
Rachel Cockerell was born and raised in London. Melting Point was published in February 2024, and has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the New Statesman. It has been called ‘a truly radical book’ (Andrew Marr), ‘extraordinarily original’ (Laura Cumming), and ‘groundbreaking’ (Anthony Beevor). Jonathan Freedland has said of Melting Point that ‘non-fiction will be different as a result’.
The Lados Group: Saving Jews with faked Latin American Passports
This is the story of a remarkable and until now little-known rescue operation, in which Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland attempted to save Jews from the Holocaust using forged Latin American passports. It will explain their motives, their hindrances, their successes, and why they have been forgotten.
Roger Moorhouse is the author of seven books on modern Polish and German history, especially WW2, and am a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Warsaw.
Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010
Join us for a fascinating talk with author Pam Fox as she delves into her latest book, Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010. Discover the rich history of Bloom’s, the beloved restaurant and manufacturing firm that became an icon of Jewish cuisine in London. From its humble beginnings to its rise as a celebrated institution, Pam Fox explores the stories, people, and cultural significance behind this legendary establishment. Whether you’re a history buff, a food enthusiast, or simply love a good tale of tradition and transformation, this talk is not to be missed. Come and relive the nostalgia of Bloom’s and its lasting impact on the culinary world.
To buy Noshtalgia: The Bloom’s Story, 1921-2010 click here
The Passover Bunny, Losing the Beer Goddess, and The Argentine Matzah Problem: Seder Gems from Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah
Dr Jon Greenberg will introduce the Torah Flora biblical and talmudic botany program and Fruits of Freedom, a Passover Hagadah with a commentary from the perspective of the history of Jewish food and agriculture. He will be looking at the importance of beer and bread in ancient Egyptian religion, and how the Ten Plagues and the Exodus discredited this mythology, the real-life Passover bunny, the solution to a collision between science and Torah in an Argentinian matzah bakery, and the heroic determination of our Roman-era ancestors to reconcile Talmudic environmentalism with Passover observance.
Dr. Jon Greenberg, author of TorahFlora.org, received his bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Brown University and his Master’s and Doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He has also studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel’s Yeshivat Hamivtar and conducted research on corn, alfalfa, and soybeans at Cornell, the US Department of Agriculture, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cancer Research. Since 1989, he has been a science teacher and educational consultant. Dr. Greenberg was Senior Editor of science textbooks at Prentice Hall Publishing Co. Previously on the faculty of Yeshivas Ohr Yosef, the School of Education at Indiana University, and the University of Phoenix, he taught at the Heschel School from 2008 to 2024. In 2021, he published Fruits of Freedom, a Passover Hagadah with a commentary from the perspective of the history of Jewish food and agriculture. He is a frequent speaker at synagogues, schools, and botanical gardens. Dr. Greenberg can be contacted at jon@torahflora.org.
Everyday Jews
‘Can Jews be boring? On the value of everyday Jewishness’
Particularly at this moment, Jews are subject to extraordinary scrutiny and fascination. Our friends and our enemies are in awe of our significance. This intense interest risks ‘hollowing out’ Jewish life so that only our public existence remains. Drawing on his new book Everyday Jews: Why the Jewish people are not who you think they are , Keith Kahn-Harris will make the case for Jews embracing their mundane, parochial and ‘everyday’ side. Jews can be as boring as anyone else and, right now, non-Jews need to be confronted with this side of Jewish existence
‘Dr Keith Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and writer. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and a Senior Lecturer at Leo Baeck College. Everyday Jews is his ninth book
The Hebrew Teacher
Three Israeli women, their lives altered by immigration to the United States, seek to overcome crises. llana is a veteran Hebrew instructor at a Midwestern college who has built her life around her career. When a young Hebrew literature professor joins the faculty, she finds his post-Zionist politics pose a threat to her life’s work. Miriam, whose son left Israel to make his fortune in Silicon Valley, pays an unwanted visit to meet her new grandson and discovers cracks in the family’s perfect façade. Efrat, another Israeli in California, is determined to help her daughter navigate the challenges of middle school, and crosses forbidden lines when she follows her into the minefield of social media. In these three stirring novellas-comedies of manners with an ambitious blend of irony and sensitivity-celebrated Israeli author Maya Arad probes the demise of idealism and the generation gap that her heroines must confront.
In Conversation with Lord Mann of Holbeck Moor HM Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism
January 2025 marked a significant milestone with the launch of the Board of Deputies’ Commission on Antisemitism, a vital initiative addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time. We are delighted to announce that one of its Chairs, Lord John Mann, will return to Milim for an insightful evening of discussion.
Join us as Lord Mann, HM Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism, and Simon Myerson KC, Chair of the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, explore the work of this landmark commission. Together, they will delve into the ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism, the challenges faced by communities today, and the importance of education and advocacy in fostering a safer and more inclusive society.
Lord Mann is a powerful voice in the fight against antisemitism, and his commitment to tackling prejudice is unwavering. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear firsthand about the vital work being undertaken and engage in a conversation about some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Mindele’s Journey: A Memoir of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust
Giving a voice to those who were silenced. Brooklyn, N.Y. – Nicknamed “the wanderer” Mariette Bermowitz, author of “Mindele’s Journey: Memoir of a Hidden Child of the Holocaust” writes for us and for herself, her need to hold onto treasured fragments of her past.
The refrain, “Do you remember?” fills the pages as Mariette wanders, flees and returns to so many lives: as a Jewish child, as a Catholic, as a free-spirit in Brooklyn, as a wife, girlfriend, daughter. In 1942 when Mindele was four years old her mother and four siblings were deported to concentration camps while she was miraculously rescued and placed in a convent, then spent the remaining war years with a family in the Belgian countryside. When her father returned to claim her, she no longer recognized him. Living in post war Brussels, a world filled with despair for the Jews who survived, was when “the war after the war” began for her.
“My story is a testament to a guiding force instilled in me by the nuns who sheltered me during the war,” Bermowitz says. “I know what it’s like to give up hope, but something always drove me on”
Managing the Bad Boys of Snooker: Jimmy White and Alex Higgins ( and a lot more)
For Harvey Lisberg the best rewards of writing his memoir “I’m Into Something Good” and later reformatting it for the niche excerpt ‘Managing the Bad Boys of Snooker’ were the wonderful reviews, podcasts, personal appearances, and broadcasts, and then rekindling old friendships as a result.
As Harvey says: “Now, I am in daily contact with Jimmy White and share a weekly football bet with him on the understanding it is the only betting we do; we are born again recovering gamblers! Jimmy asked me to negotiate a film deal for his upcoming biopic starring Ray Winston which may be bittersweet as I spent a considerable amount of time on lyrics to a new song. “Jimmy, Jimmy White” I love that song . It has been great reconnecting with Jimmy because I get to re-live the ‘snooker years’.
The snooker players (Jimmy White & Alex Higgins) were way more rock ‘n roll than the rock ‘n roll stars (Herman’s Hermits &10cc) and there’s huge irony in that but it true! Some of the stories are just irresistible so I decided to write them into a book – enjoy!”
Kosher Code: Bringing Jewish Ethics to Artificial Intelligence
Everyone is talking about AI – will it take jobs? Will it ruin education? Is it set to make people dumber? Or is a gift whose timing is perfect to help heal our fractured world? This fascinating talk explores AI from a Jewish Ethics perspective, providing a completely original view on the tool that is set to change the lives of just about everyone on the planet. Jonathan Gabay has over 4 decades of experience in public relations, advertising and marketing. He is the author of 17 books and an accredited journalist. Currently, Jonathan specialises in AI and digital marketing. He is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is asked to consult on AI for businesses of all sizes. Jonathan is a proud advocate for Israel.
The Jews of Lithuania: A Journey Through the Long Twentieth Century
Nick Sayers talks about his book which is the result of a personal quest to understand more about his family background in eastern Europe. It leads him to dig deeply into many of the big questions about modern Jewish history in Lithuania
It's on the Meter: One Taxi, Three Mates and 43,000 Miles of Misadventures around the World
When three friends – Paul, Johno and Leigh – clicked ‘buy’ on an iconic London cab, little did they know what they were letting themselves in for. Leaving the Big Smoke in their taxi bound for Sydney, the lads began a 43,000-mile trip that would take them off the beaten track to some of the most dangerous and deadly places on earth. By the time they arrived home, they would manage against all the odds to circumnavigate the globe and break two world records. From altercations with the Iranian secret police to narrowly escaping the Taliban, the trio’s adventure is filled with hair-raising escapades. Feel the fear, revel in the fun and meet some of the hundred passengers the taxi picked up along the way, as the authors take you on their action-packed journey. Walking the Wharfe: An ode to a Yorkshire river In a world of globetrotting explorers and record-breaking journeys – of which he has been part himself – Johno Ellison decided to return to his roots and walk the entire length of the River Wharfe, the Yorkshire waterway beside which he grew up. In his new book for Bradt, Walking the Wharfe, Ellison retraces the steps of Victorian author Edmund Bogg to investigate how the riverscape and its communities have evolved during the intervening 120 years. While wild camping, meeting modern-day Vikings, wartime ghosts and the fearless ‘Dales Dippers’, and learning how not to deal with a herd of over-inquisitive cows, Ellison encounters a microcosm of English history and culture.
Counting the Stars - Jews in Space
In space nobody can hear you scream, but they can hear you kvetch.’ From Leonard Nimoy’s Vulcan salute to the Soviet cosmonaut, from Levi Ben Gerson to William Herschel and Carl Sagan, Jews have made a contribution to all things astronomical. Tony Zendle has gathered together many of the stories that relate to Jews’ involvement; their role in science fiction; as astronauts; as astronomers, and the talk will reflect that, but more than that you will learn about how salt beef and bagels went into space, about the Nazi Daleks, and along the way some issues that have clouded the fictional element of the tales. Tony’s latest book is “Counting the Stars”, a book of two halves. Real Jews in Real Space, and Unreal Jews in Unreal Space. Real Jews – the astronomers who opened up, and continue to explore our understanding of the Cosmos; the people who enabled man to go to Space, both Russian and American. Unreal Jews – Space Opera, Space Theatre, and not just Star Trek and Spock’s salute, but also Dr Who, and the Jewish authors of science fiction; indeed the man who coined the term science fiction.
United Nations, Israel and 7th October
As part of “Leeds Remembers 7th October’, Prof Rosa Freedman of the the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism returns to Milim a for a special talk
Dogfight over Sinai: The day Israeli Spitfires shot down five RAF Spitfires
In the very last hours of Israel’s War of Independence, in January Join Yanky Fachler and learn about the day in 1949, an aerial dogfight involving Spitfires took place in the skies above the Sinai Desert. The Spitfire dogfight was not between Israeli and Egyptian aircraft, but between the fledgling Israeli Air Force and the RAF. The score: 5 nil.
Melting Point
Melting Point is the story of the forgotten search for an alternative to Palestine. Rachel Cockerell’s great-grandfather was part of a group of rebel Zionists who said “If we cannot get the Holy Land, we can make another land holy.” They scoured the earth for a temporary Promised Land, from Australia to Angola to Antarctica, and eventually led 10,000 Russian Jews to Galveston, Texas. The book is told entirely through first-hand accounts, weaving together letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles and interviews.
Rachel Cockerell was born and raised in London. Melting Point was published in February 2024, and has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the New Statesman. It has been called ‘a truly radical book’ (Andrew Marr), ‘extraordinarily original’ (Laura Cumming), and ‘groundbreaking’ (Anthony Beevor). Jonathan Freedland has said of Melting Point that ‘non-fiction will be different as a result’.
The Lados Group: Saving Jews with faked Latin American Passports
This is the story of a remarkable and until now little-known rescue operation, in which Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland attempted to save Jews from the Holocaust using forged Latin American passports. It will explain their motives, their hindrances, their successes, and why they have been forgotten.
Roger Moorhouse is the author of seven books on modern Polish and German history, especially WW2, and am a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Warsaw.