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Rabbi Abraham Levy, influential leader among Britain’s Sephardic Jews, dies at 83
(JTA) — British Jews are mourning Rabbi Abraham Levy, who led London’s historic Spanish and Portuguese community for decades, building up multiple institutions serving Sephardic Jews in the process.
Levy died Dec. 24 at age 83, a decade after becoming emeritus spiritual head of the S&P Sephardi Community in London, following a 32-year period serving as the head rabbi.
“He was a man of God. A leader of religious life. And he did it with a great deal of conviction. He was a leader who was courageous and had integrity,” his successor, Rabbi Joseph Dweck, said during a special session held to memorialize Levy during the annual Limmud Festival of Jewish learning in Birmingham, England, which was underway when he died.
Levy had played a role in building the annual festival to its current status when, in its early days in the 1980s, his participation was unusual among Orthodox rabbis. Now, the festival is seen as an exemplar of pluralism.
“It is a huge loss for the whole of Anglo Jewry — he built our collective Judaism,” Dweck said. “He represented the Jewish community with such grace and eloquence. I am not sure how we replace that. When we were not sure what the Spanish and Portuguese custom was there was only one person we would ask — and that was him.”
Born in Gibraltar to an Orthodox family, Levy trained as a rabbi at London’s Jews’ College and also completed a doctorate at London University. He ascended to the top spot in London’s Spanish and Portuguese community in 1980.
During his tenure, Levy was responsible for opening Naima Jewish Preparatory School, the first Sephardi school in London since the early 20th century. He remained until his death the honorary principal of the school, which was located in London’s West End and enrolled a mixture of Anglo-Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and burgeoning numbers of Jews from Iran, Iraq and France in the late 1980s.
Levy is also credited with retaining Orthodox rabbinic ordination in England under the auspices of the Montefiore Endowment, after the body that had ordained him stopped minting new rabbis. He additionally created a leadership program for young Jews whose early graduates included Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Britain’s chief rabbi for 22 decades and a towering figure in contemporary Judaism.
Rabbi Abraham Levy led the S&P Sephardi Community in England for more than three decades. He is seen in prayer after his retirement. (Courtesy of Rabbi Joseph Dweck)
Rabbi Raphael Zarum, a graduate of the Montefiore rabbinic training program who is now dean of the London School of Jewish Studies, said Levy was gifted at integrating religious and secular ideas. There was, Zarum said, “a natural overlap for him… He would say, ‘We Sephardim do our jobs, we are part of the world and we are also close to our faith.’”
Levy took a lead role in Sepharad 92, the effort by the World Sephardi Federation to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Jewish expulsion from Spain and Portugal. His role included meeting heads of state and visiting Sephardic communities in Spain and Portugal.
As a member of England’s Council of Christians and Jews, Levy helped to foster positive relations between the faiths. Queen Elizabeth awarded him the OBE, Britain’s second-highest national award, for his interfaith relations work in 2004.
“Rabbi Levy will be profoundly missed, but his message of tolerance and his work toward interfaith dialogue hold enduring lessons for us all,” King Charles said in a statement. He said Levy had been his host when Charles visited the Bevis Marks Synagogue, the largest associated with the Sephardic community, for its 300th anniversary in 2o01.
“I knew him both as a kind and towering figure in his community and as a greatly respected and admired teacher across communities,” the king said in his statement.
Tributes also poured in from elsewhere in England, from British Jews of all backgrounds and even from the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who was a cousin. Hassan-Nahoum tweeted that Levy was “a great and proud Sefardi leader — who will be greatly missed.”
“Our community mourns the sad loss of Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy,” said the United Kingdom’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, in a statement. He “made his mark well beyond the Sephardi community. A committed rabbinic leader and outstanding scholar, he made a deep impact in interfaith relations and education.”
Levy was buried Dec. 26 in a cemetery in Golders Green, a predominantly Jewish neighborhood of London, after a funeral procession that included stops at the Naima school and the Lauderdale Road Synagogue, also part of the Sephardi community. He is survived by a son and four grandchildren.
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The post Rabbi Abraham Levy, influential leader among Britain’s Sephardic Jews, dies at 83 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israeli Intelligence: Iran’s Regime at Most Fragile Point Since 1999
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli intelligence officials assess that Iran’s ruling Ayatollah regime is at its most fragile point in more than two decades, as nationwide protests continue to escalate.
The scale of the demonstrations and the government’s response have prompted deep concern in Jerusalem.
A near-total internet shutdown is being interpreted as a troubling signal of severe events unfolding on the streets, including widespread killings that remain largely undocumented. Despite protests erupting in roughly 100 cities across Iran, very little video footage has emerged, further underscoring the regime’s clampdown.
Israeli officials warn that the situation could pose a real threat to the stability of Tehran’s leadership if demonstrations continue to grow. However, sources stress that the outcome is highly uncertain. A potential collapse of the regime would not necessarily lead to a democratic government, and intermediate scenarios—such as the replacement of leaders with regents or puppet figures—are also possible.
“The situation is far more complex than it appears,” said a source familiar with security discussions to i24NEWS. “No one truly knows how events will unfold, and we are monitoring every development with extreme caution to determine the best response.”
For now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach is described internally as “monitoring, supporting, hoping.” Israel is keeping a careful distance, allowing Washington to take the lead in applying international pressure on Tehran, while ensuring that the protest movement cannot be linked to Jerusalem in any public way.
Israel’s security establishment continues to follow developments closely, preparing for multiple scenarios in an environment where uncertainty and volatility remain exceptionally high.
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‘Prepare Military Defenses,’ Top US Officials Warn Trump as He Contemplates Strike on Iran
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – US President Donald Trump has been warned by senior military officials that more time is needed to prepare for potential strikes against Iran, reports the Telegraph.
The president is reportedly considering military action in response to the violent crackdown by Iranian security forces against demonstrators.
Options under review include targeting elements of Iran’s security services implicated in the mass suppression of protests.
The demonstrations, which have erupted nationwide, have drawn international attention and heightened tensions in the region.
However, commanders stationed in the Middle East have cautioned that any immediate strike could provoke retaliatory attacks against US forces or allied interests. Officials told the White House that US troops need to first “consolidate military positions and prepare defenses” before undertaking any operations that could escalate into a broader conflict.
The warnings reflect concerns over both operational readiness and regional stability. Iran’s military capabilities, including ballistic missiles and proxy forces, could enable swift retaliation, making careful planning essential.
Intelligence assessments are ongoing, with US officials also monitoring Tehran’s response to the protests, which have been met with lethal force by authorities.
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Mamdani denounces Hamas chants, but his delay draws scrutiny
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing mounting scrutiny after a delayed response to a protest in which demonstrators chanted pro-Hamas slogans. The episode reopened lingering doubts among Jewish leaders and voters who have watched Mamdani stumble through earlier flashpoints.
In a statement shared with reporters Friday evening, Mamdani condemned the language used during a protest outside a Queens synagogue Thursday night. The demonstration targeted an event promoting real estate investment in the Jewish communities of Modi’in and Ma’ale Adumim, settlements in the occupied West Bank, and included chants of “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.”
Mamdani said the rhetoric and displays at the protest were “wrong and have no place in our city.” An hour later, amid criticism that he had not explicitly named Hamas, he followed up in a post on X, “Chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city.”
It echoed a similar episode after Mamdani’s election in November, when he issued a mixed response to a demonstration outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue that featured anti-Israel and antisemitic slogans. He initially questioned the use of a sacred place for an event promoting migration to Israel. He later clarified his statement and said he would consider legislation limiting protests outside synagogues.
Critics said the response, which took nearly a day, was slow and undercut Mamdani’s repeated pledges to protect Jewish New Yorkers, and raised fresh questions about what kind of mayor he intends to be. New York City is home to the largest concentration of Jews in the United States. New York Police Department data shows that antisemitic acts made up 57% of all reported hate crimes citywide in 2025.
A week earlier, on his first day in office, Mamdani — a democratic socialist whose strident criticism of Israel deepened rifts within New York City’s Jewish community during the election — had already drawn criticism from mainstream Jewish organizations for revoking two executive orders by former Mayor Eric Adams that adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism that includes some forms of anti-Zionism, and another penalizing city contractors who engaged in boycotts of Israel.
Mamdani’s response to the Thursday night Hamas chants was issued around 5 pm on Friday. By the time, many Shabbat-observant New Yorkers did not see the mayor’s condemnation until Saturday night.
Some allies who accepted Mamdani’s ideological position privately expressed surprise that the mayor did not immediately denounce the chants, given the predictability of the backlash and the stakes involved. During the election, Mamdani came under fire for his refusal to explicitly condemn the “globalize the intifada” slogan used at some pro-Palestinian protests, perceived by many as a call for violence against Jews.
Adam Carlson, a political polling and research expert, called Mamdani’s statement denouncing the Hamas chants reasonable but “not perfect,” after spending much of the day criticizing the mayor’s lack of response, even as Democratic elected officials and some of Mamdani’s progressive allies issued fierce condemnations. “This is not only hurtful to me,” Carlson wrote on X, “but it’s bad politics and distracts from his agenda.”
Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who is Jewish and ran in last year’s Democratic mayoral primary, was even more blunt. “I have never been as concerned about the direction of our city as I am today,” Stringer said in an interview. “We are not up to a strong start in bringing the city together.”
Stringer, who was an active leader in combating anti-Muslim hatred after 9/11, said he had hoped that Mamdani would focus on affordability and issues that unite New Yorkers across communities. “But if that’s not to be, then we will fight politically,” he said. He pointed to the upcoming June primaries for Congress and the State Assembly, in which some of Mamdani’s socialist allies — and candidates he has endorsed — could pay a political price. In New York, Stringer said, “we are at the epicenter of Jewish hate, and we’re not going to stand down and allow this to unfold without a political response.”
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Mamdani declined to address why he didn’t respond immediately, but said his statement was “consistent with my own politics and my own policies.”
A recent poll found that 55% of non-Jewish voters in New York City say Jewish concerns about feeling threatened by Mamdani’s statements on Israel are an overreaction fueled by politics. By contrast, among a smaller sample of 131 Jewish respondents, 53% say they have reason to feel that way, given Mamdani’s statements and associations.
What other city leaders said
While Mamdani remained silent through much of Friday, other city leaders moved quickly. City Council Speaker Julie Menin, City Comptroller Mark Levine, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James all issued statements strongly condemning the pro-Hamas chants.
Speaking Friday night at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, Menin, who is the first Jewish speaker in the council’s history, was cautious but optimistic about collaborating with Mamdani on issues related to antisemitism in Israel.
“The Torah reminds us that leadership does not emerge from a place of peace, but from a place of struggle,” Menin told congregants. “When it comes to fighting for our Jewish community, I promise I will be the leader that you can count on — one who stands up to hate, who is not afraid to speak out, and who will not look away when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.”
Levine, who is also Jewish, said, “There is no ambiguity” in condemning the support of a terrorist organization. “This cannot be normalized or excused,” he wrote on X. “Truly reprehensible.”
Hochul, who is running for reelection this year, said in a joint appearance with Mamdani last week that in her upcoming State of State address on Tuesday, she will announce safety zones around houses of worship “where people can go freely to a safe place without threats of violence or protests.”
The post Mamdani denounces Hamas chants, but his delay draws scrutiny appeared first on The Forward.