Strictly Kosher
ITV1 London, Monday 11 July 9:00pm - 10:00pm
Whenever there's a documentary made about the Jewish faith, you can guarantee that there'll be a scene featuring circumcision. And sure enough, in the first ten minutes of this look at Manchester's 40,000-strong population of Jews, there's a sleeping baby boy getting a rude awakening. But once that's been dealt with, we're onto more affectionately wry territory as we meet a cross-section of the community, from those who don't consider themselves to be particularly observant of religious tenets to the strict followers of Haredi Judaism. Stand-out characters include retailer Joel Lever, whose fashion boutique is frequented by the women of Prestwich, and self-styled modern orthodox mum Bernette Clarke who rushes around her house offering pickled cucumbers to her sons before preparing chicken soup that she refers to as "Jewish penicillin". Adding emotional heft is 83-year-old Jack Aisenberg and the story of his family's demise at the Belzec Extermination camp, a fate he managed to escape by fleeing to the North West in 1945. But a Nazi flag given to him by a British soldier serves as a reminder of those dark days.
Radio Times reviewer - David Brown
VIDEO Plus+: 8643
Subtitled, Widescreen, High definition
Directed by: Chris MaloneRadiotimes
