As world leaders in Copenhagen try to thrash out an agreement to combat climate change, it is good to know that Anglo-Jewish organisations are planning to do their bit. In order to cut carbon emissions, the UJIA is considering sending gap-year students to Israel by boat rather than plane.

There are educational advantages too, believes UJIA chief executive Douglas Krikler. Apart from visiting Jewish communities en route, retracing the journey of early immigrants who reached Haifa by boat could be “particularly poignant”, he says.