CORONAVIRUS

Maccabi closure hard to take

THE temporary closure of Manchester Maccabi is the hardest decision chairman Darryl Lee has had to make during his more than 30 year association with the club.

The chairman of the club, based in Prestwich, Manchester, told the Jewish Telegraph: "The club has just got itself into a fantastic position, but now I've never been so worried.

"It costs around £10,000 per month to run and I really don't know what we're going to do. But we are trying to turn a negative into a positive.

"Despite RiMo, our in-house bistro, having to close to the public, its owner Lee Fernandez will be providing a Beth Din supervised home-delivery service as economically as possible, effective immediately and specifically over the Pesach period.

"Our intention is to harness the great support we get from our volunteer network who are keen to help others in the community at this uncertain time."

For details, contact Lee on 07493 512990, check the RiMo Facebook page for menu updates.

Mr Lee praised his team, who, he said, were "not just typical staff".

He said: "They are like friends who go above and beyond what is required for all of our service users.

"This is obviously something we regret having to do, but our sole priority at this time is to ensure the safety and well-being of our members, service users and the community in general.

"We will therefore only re-open when we are satisfied it is safe to do so."

Meanwhile, in Leeds, The Zone, based on the same site as Leeds Jewish Free School and Brodetsky Primary School in Alwoodley, is remaining open, while also moving online.

Chief executive Raina Sheaf explained: "We're not allowing over-70s on campus, and we're following the school guidelines.

"But we're also launching an online chat service where young people can get access to two safeguarding officers if they need.

"We'll also be putting certain activities online, via stream service Zoom, with a skeleton staff on site to manage that."

Glasgow Maccabi, based in Giffnock, has announced that it will be closed from today.

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