Alan hails from a mixed marriage — between a Sephardi and an Ashkenazi.

“My father’s family were Sephardi. They lived in Amsterdam till the end of the 19th century and then came to London. My mother’s family were from eastern Europe,” he said.

He explained that in Amsterdam and later among British Sephardim, the community would pay a dota, a marriage award to Sephardim who married fellow Sephardim.

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