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The week last Prince William makes a historic visit to Israel, long known as the homeland of the Jewish people. It was the first official trip of a member of the British Royal Family to the country. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomed the 36-year-old as a "prince and a pilgrim". President Mahmoud Abbas warmly welcomed President Mahmoud Abbas on his trip to Ramallah.
The Duke of Cambridge visited the Yad Vashem Memorial, a Palestinian refugee camp and school, and met with locals on the beaches of Tel Aviv.
The apolitical visit was carefully choreographed to negotiate the diplomatic minefield that surrounds the area. Many Jews in the Jewish community saw it as a "welcome blessing".
Three Jews from Northern Ireland talk about their faith and what the Prince's monumental journey to their spiritual land actually meant for them.
Born in Boston, Becca Bor (33) has lived in Londonderry for four years. Raised by a reformed Jew, she no longer goes to the temple, in part because the only Jewish synagogue in Northern Ireland is 75 miles from Belfast. She says:
I was raised in Reform Judaism. Orthodox Jews believe that the word of the Torah (the five books of Moses) is the word of God. Conservative Jews believe that when Moses wrote the word of God, there was human intervention. Reformed Jews believe that the Torah is the oral history of the Israelites and the Jewish people written by humans. Because of this, there is more room for maneuver in the way that Reform Jews view scripture.
When it comes to rules like being kosher, for example, all orthodox Jews are kosher. However the Reform Jews, some of them are and others are not. So, it's really choosing the things that seem to you the most important of the Torah.
For example, my family would not have observed any kosher except at Easter – which occurs in the eight days around Easter – so that we would not eat leavened breads or cereals and we would observe the rituals around this holiday.
I do not go to a synagogue or a temple. There is none in Derry
There was one in the area of La Fontaine several years ago, but it has been abandoned for a long time.
I have not been to the temple for a long time, I stopped going there many years ago. I disagreed with many of the political positions they took, but I still celebrate family vacations. I still consider myself Jewish and I enjoy holidays and different stories in scriptures and prayers with my family.
I strongly disagree with the actions of Israel with respect to Palestine. Prince William should have refused to go there.
When the Prince went to Israel, he went there in a certain way to reach the Jewish community.
But I was really disappointed because I think he should not have visited me. I believe that Israel is a state of apartheid. One of the things that has been so frustrating is when people only see Israel as an extension of Judaism. I was brought up thinking that myself, that Israel was the homeland of the Jewish people. This is what we learned at school and in our temple.
But I think I'm part of a generation of young Jews, and this is especially true in the United States, which is increasingly disgusted by Israel. to the Palestinians. We do not want to have anything to do with that. We do not think it speaks for the Jews at all. Israeli state actions against Palestinians hurt Jews around the world.
We believe that Israel should not be only a country for the Jews, but for all who live there.
I think Prince William should have refused Israel.
Margaret Black, 67, owner of a retired furniture store and wife of Belfast, is Jewish Orthodox and member of the Belfast Synagogue, before marrying her husband Michael He 40 years ago
I go to the synagogue about once a month, there is a service every Saturday morning for the congregation
Women do not participate in the service, they are only men because the community is orthodox 19659002] I'm not too religious, I do not eat pork and shellfish and we keep kosher at home, I do not eat meat, but I cook for my family.
animals are actually slaughtered at Ballyjamesduff brought to Manchester and I phone in an order with the kosher butcher I go there to Belfast
My faith is very important to me.I have trouble putting it into words, that's who I am now.I was born in the Protestant faith, I converted to Judaism shortly before I married about 40 years ago. I do not think it has changed much as a person, I am still the same person, but because I am a member of the Jewish community and my husband is the president of this community, we would be very involved in Jewish life. But today, we are a very small elderly community.
The visit of Prince William highlighted the modern and animated state of Israel
I found great to have the opportunity to visit Israel. It was a historic visit because the royal family had never been there before.
I am so happy that he went there and learned a lot from it.
Israel is a wonderful country and anyone who has the opportunity to go and visit should do. I went there 10 times. Israel is a modern, dynamic and forward-looking country.
So it is special that Prince William went there and made the light. "
Dr. Dennis Coppel (82) is a former anesthetist consultant at He is an Orthodox Jew and a member of the Belfast Synagogue, he says:
I am an Orthodox Jew, I am at the synagogue once a week, every Sabbath, every Sabbath, there is only one synagogue in Northern Ireland and an orthodox synagogue on Somerton Road in Belfast
I was born in the faith My father and mother were both Jewish When I was young in Belfast, there were about 1500 Jews in our community.
Now, there are more than about 80. We had young people who left here, went to university The community itself was getting old and we had 30 years of our so-called troubles It played an important role in people who went to live in Israel, London, Manchester, South Africa, and elsewhere, the population declined.
To have a Jewish service, you have to have 10 men. It is one of our main problems today, getting enough men to have a service.
Every member of the Jewish community can choose with what rigor they adhere to the rituals associated with their faith.
The synagogue of Belfast is orthodox but how? Orthodox depends on each individual. Although I regularly go to the synagogue, there are some things I do not observe, because I am not very religious. We must keep the Sabbath, do not do work on the Sabbath, do not go by public transport or cook on the Sabbath, and we are not supposed to eat anything other than kosher food – in which animals are slaughtered in a certain way. Although I belong to an Orthodox community and I am quite observant, I am also liberal enough. There is a strict observation in not eating shells and pigs. They are forbidden.
My faith means a lot to me because of my family background. The fact that my grandparents came from Talitsa in Russia, my mother's parents came from Poland and they were all great Jewish families and because of the unrest in Russia they left for here. So, there has been Coppels here since 1895.
Prince William's visit to Israel meant a lot to me and I hope that the media coverage that the visit has received in the world will allow relations between the United Kingdom and United and Israel to grow
that a member of the royal family had visited Israel. I know the delicacies of it. The state of Israel has existed since 1948 and no member of the royal family has ever been officially visiting. The Israelis were delighted to see a young and charming future king come to bless the state of Israel and visit the site where we remember the Holocaust and see a vibrant and friendly people at home. the Israelis.
Having a member of the royal family's visit was very comforting. I hope this will help improve relations between Israel and the United Kingdom. "
Belfast Telegraph
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