Posts by Simon Rocker

A question of blessing Israel

Simon Rocker — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:42:32 +0100

The prayer for the state of Israel has become so much a regular part of the Shabbat morning service in most synagogues that it is easy to forget that its wording is still a source of controversy.

I was once in a shteibl where after the Torah reading, the congregation split into two over the prayer: one group wanted to bless the “state of Israel”, but the other, refusing any concession to Zionism, went to another room and instead prayed for “the residents of the land of Israel”.

This is not the only dispute. The common form of the prayer in Israel describes the state as “the first flowering of our redemption”: but others — including the Singer’s siddur, for instance — omit this messianic reference. It is a dispute not just about halachic technicalities but about political and religious ideology, and it can be so fraught that, as Avraham Steinberg observes in his short volume, it “has sometimes even been attended by verbal — and even physical — violence”

His book is essentially a compilation of rabbinic sources from the Talmud to the 20th century, which inform the arguments used by the different protagonists, Zionist and anti-Zionist. It looks beyond the narrow question of the terminology of the prayer to divergent views of the coming of the Messiah: does it happen as part of a natural order of events or by miraculous intervention? And, if so, is the birth of Israel to be recognised as a miracle in our times which beckons towards the ultimate redemption?

Should I give charity only to Zionist causes in Israel?

Simon Rocker — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:39:49 +0100

Question: A very Orthodox man came to our door collecting for a school which helps special needs children in Israel. I asked if the institution were Zionist; he said no, so I would not give a donation. Was I right to stand by my political principles or should I have set them aside and given something?

Rabbi Naftali Brawer

Naftali Brawer is the CEO of the Spiritual Capital Foundation.

Let’s assume for a moment that instead of it being a special needs school, it was an ordinary, non-Zionist school; would you ask the same question? I suspect not. Charitable givers are perfectly within their rights to discern which organisations get their hard-earned money. If as an ardent Zionist, you disagree with what is being taught in a non-Zionist school you are under no obligation to fund it.

Your question arises because the school serves special needs children and no one feels comfortable turning away the especially vulnerable. Still I don’t think this emotional element should change the equation. Education is not ideologically neutral. Education systems impart certain values while rejecting others. If you don’t share the values of the school in question there is no reason for you to support it financially, regardless of whether the pupils have special needs or not.

If, however, the man at your door was collecting for a non-Zionist soup kitchen to feed the hungry, or a hospital to heal the sick, it would be a different story. Food and healthcare are ideologically neutral. Even if the institution itself is ideologically aligned, hunger and illness are not. Imagine what kind of world we would live in if the starving would have to profess ideologically correct views before becoming eligible to receive aid.

The phenomenon of door-to-door collections for charities in Israel — a prevalent practice in north-west London — raises a broader question; to what extent is one obligated to give to the needy of another community, especially when there are demands from one’s own local community?

Maimonides rules that one’s own community must always take preference in the same way that one’s needy relatives take preference over non-relatives. Given the enormous need within our own communities, how can one ever justify giving anything to the needy in Israel, or in another country for that matter?

Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein raises this unattractive possibility in his halachic work Aruch Hashulchan. He observes wryly that every rich man has numerous poor relatives, so what is a poor man to do if he doesn’t have a rich relative: starve? He interprets the law of precedence to mean that one should give more to those closest but that one should always make sure enough remains to give something to non-relatives and the needy who live further afield..

Rabbi Jonathan Romain

Jonathan Romain is rabbi at Maidenhead (Reform) Synagogue.

Congratulations on the way you handled the person initially. When faced with an unfamiliar charity, some give without thinking and support a group about which they do not have any facts and might not assist if they did.

Others refuse because they do not recognise it, or are too embarrassed to ask questions. It is much better to engage with the person (a genuine collector will always be pleased to tell you about the cause) and find out what it is trying to achieve.

As for your subsequent reaction, there are two aspects. First is the general principle of responding to those in need, which is central to Judaism. It is rooted on a personal level in the command to “love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19.18): if you yourself were impoverished or ill or vulnerable, how would you like people to act towards you? That should be your guideline whenever dealing with others.

The importance of giving lies in the very term we use: whereas the English word “charity” carries the sense of a beneficient decision that is especially noble, the Hebrew term for it, tzedakah, — literally means “righteousness” and carries the sense of a basic obligation incumbent on everyone. It is a duty, not a good deed.

But the rabbis also say that there is a limit to giving, and you should not hand over so much that you become dependent on others yourself. It follows that there is a right to say “no” to some charities, and there is no blanket obligation to give unreservedly.

This is the second aspect to charity, deciding which causes to support and which not to help. Some might simply decide to back the first two or three charities a day which approach them. Others will prefer causes with which they have a personal connection, such as a relative suffering from cancer. Others will avoid those which they consider are lower priorities or with which they disagree, either in principle or because of the way they operate.

Thus your decision is perfectly acceptable but with two caveats: that you should turn down the person politely —refusal need not be accompanied by rudeness — and that it should not be an excuse for avoiding your duty to give to charity. So ensure that what you withheld from that particular collector, you give to a cause of which you do approve..

Facebook rabbi voted in as Sephardi leader

Simon Rocker — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:30:28 +0100

Britain’s oldest Orthodox community has at last found a senior rabbi after a search that began more than three years ago.

Rabbi Joseph Dweck, 37, of New York, was endorsed as the new rabbinic leader of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation by a massive majority of 270 votes to four in a ballot of its members last week.

Adam Musikant, a member of the executive, said; “I doubt whether in the history of Anglo-Jewry any elected rabbi has had a 98.5 per cent vote.

“He is exceptionally dynamic and a breath of fresh air. He will be a great representative on the ambassadorial stage of our community.”

Rabbi Dweck, who was born in Los Angeles to parents of Syrian roots, has seen his Sephardi congregation, Shaare Shalom, increase from a few dozen members to some 800 over the past 14 years.

He has also been head of a Jewish school for two- to 13-year-olds, Barkai Yeshivah, for four years.

He and his wife Margalit, who is the granddaughter of the world’s leading Sephardi rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, have five children, aged from six to 15.

“I am not going to move my family officially till July 2014. But I will be coming in and out periodically over the next year,” he said, with his next visit likely to be shortly after the High Holy Days.

“I’m looking forward to upholding the traditions of the ‘S and P’ which I have a tremendous respect for,” he added.

The 1,250-strong Spanish and Portuguese community in London offered a unique combination of the warmth and passion of the Sephardi tradition derived from the experience of living in the West for nearly 400 years, he explained.

“To me, it’s an amazing confluence of culture and it creates a unique philosophy, which is a fantastic approach to the world and to Judaism that I’d like to cultivate and to publicise,” he said. “I think the ‘S and P’ approach is one that hasn’t been capitalised upon enough.”

But while “a stickler for history”, he also sees the benefits of new social media.

“Facebook, Twitter, internet communications need to be used, first of all to be able to reach out to the youth in their arena.”

One of his ambitions is to create “a young ambassadors programme, where we’ll have young people from all of the different shuls in the kahal [community] to be able to work with me directly and plan events.

“That will give them an incentive to feel there is something they can do personally to affect the kahal and to have a hand in developing what they’d like to see happen.”

But new media is not only for the youth; he also hopes to use it to “try to create a cohesiveness among the entire community”.

Sephardi leaders began their attempt to recruit a successor to Rabbi Abraham Levy — who retired as spiritual head last July — early in 2010.

But their efforts floundered when their chosen candidate pulled out early last year with the community split and the election result contested. They went back to the drawing board, resuming the search this time for a “senior rabbi” rather than “spiritual head”.

After a week-long visit ahead of the vote, Rabbi Dweck said he and his wife had found “a warm and welcoming community, which was excited about the future”. He added: “I was in the UK during a week when the skies were blue. It was a nice feeling — even though people told me not to get used to it.”

Being a blind ironman is like being Iron Man - but tougher

Simon Rocker — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:44 +0100

There may be no superheroes in real life, but you still can become an Iron Man. It is a title you can earn by competing in an Ironman event, a triathlon involving a two-and-a-half mile swim, a 112-mile mountain bike ride and rounded off by a 26-mile marathon.

New York lawyer and veteran of 17 marathons Richard Bernstein has completed the gruelling course — a notable achievement because he has been blind since birth.He will speak about his refusal to bow to adversity in London next week at the Chabad UK dinner. “When you are blind, everything is a battle,” he said.

To reach law school at Chicago’s Northwestern University, he had to challenge entry rules which deterred blind candidates. “I don’t read or write,” he said. “I had to memorise everything. I prayed to God every day to give me the strength to become a lawyer. I promised Hashem that if he gave me the chance to practise law, I would dedicate my entire professional career to representing people with disabilities.”

A pledge he made good on. Now 39, he heads a division of his father Sam Bernstein’s law firm, taking on pro bono and often precedent-setting cases.

He has fought for wheelchair-users to get access to buses: for disabled war veterans to attend football stadiums: for airports and airlines to take better care of disabled passengers. “The service was so bad that people with disabilities weren’t travelling,” he said.

It was through athletics that he found the confidence he needed to be a legal campaigner.

Taking part in the Ironman triathlon, he had to swim roped to a guide and was not allowed to speak to him. “Imagine how you feel when you are swimming in total darkness and when you come up for air, you can’t, because there’s a swimmer on top of you,” he said.

But his greatest trial came last year when, while walking in Central Park in New York, a cyclist crashed into him, shattering the left side of his body and hospitalising him for 10 weeks.

Although the injury has left him with chronic pain, he is planning a comeback in the New York City marathon later his year. “My goal is to work through it — not to give up, not to stop,” he said.

That he is back on his feet he believes owes a good deal to Lubavitch. “I was in hospital for 70 days,” he said, “Chabad came every day. I don’t think I could have got through this without them.”

Board of Deputies 'in chaos'

Simon Rocker — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:36:46 +0100

The former vice-president of the Board of Deputies, Jerry Lewis, has launched a scathing attack on its current leaders, saying “Vivian Wineman and his team are presiding over the rapid disintegration” of the organisation.

Mr Lewis hits out at the “alarming signs of chaos, verging on a disaster” and attacks the role played by the Board’s chief executive for the past eight and half years, Jon Benjamin, who left his post last week.

Writing in today's JC, Mr Lewis says the Board “is in a complete mess” and “has become increasingly irrelevant”. It is only able to function because the Jewish Leadership Council makes up for its incompetence.

There has, he says, been “a calamity in...staffing at the Board. Two key departments have no experienced personnel. Four key staff have left over the last month.” He also attacks a “toxic” atmosphere among the Board’s staff.

He accuses the Board’s President, Vivian Wineman, of ignoring its standing orders and stifling debate.
Mr Lewis, who failed to win re-election as vice-president last year, says he had kept his counsel but can “keep quiet no more”.

He says: “Individuals are appointed to posts [and] expenditure is approved without adequate scrutiny”.

Mr Lewis also writes of the proposed new Code of Conduct for Deputies: [T]he most important section relates to bullying. In my last years as a vice-president, I sensed an uncomfortable climate amongst staff.”

Mr Benjamin declined to respond to Mr Lewis’s remarks. In a statement released last Friday, he said the time had felt right to leave the Board to pursue the “new and different opportunities that I have beckoning”.

Mr Wineman rejected suggestions from deputies that the departure was linked to talks between the Board and the JLC for a closer relationship.

In a Facebook post, one deputy, Jonathan Sacerdoti, commenting on an “exodus” of staff, said: “It seems the JLC has achieved its final goal of essentially emasculating/killing off the 250-year old democratic body.”

Former vice-president Eric Moonman said; “It would seem very unlikely his departure is unrelated to the growing influence of the JLC.”

But Mr Wineman declared; “Jon Benjamin chose to leave the Board this week to pursue his career elsewhere. His departure was in no way related to the JLC or to any discussions taking place between the JLC and the Board.

“These discussions are at a very early stage and can go no further until the deputies, who have the most important say, have been fully consulted.”

The Board and JLC are understood to be looking at possible unification, with one model being a two-chamber house and an elected leader.

Meanwhile, the Board’s former interfaith officer Phil Rosenberg is to return as its new public affairs director, it was announced this week.

Mr Wineman said: “We’ve appointed a new public affairs director aand are about to make at least one, possibly two, appointments in addition in the public affairs office.

“We’re close to appointing a successor to Jon.

“So we are creating a new young professional team.

“There have never been so many new projects at the Board — the community partnership project to deal with small communities, the Closer to Israel programeme, our interfaith initiatives with the Methodists and Church of Scotland.

“We’ve made changes to our plenary sessions to make them more open and accessible to deputies and give more deputies a chance to participate.

“Naturally, any change is distasteful to some of those who are living in the past and some who did not get elected to office but those changes have been approved democratically.”

The Women of the Wall: should they be bothered?

Simon Rocker — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:04:00 +0100

The Western Wall has lately become a battleground in the struggle for egalitarianism. The arrest of women for praying in a tallit at the sacred site has sparked anger across the Jewish world and fuelled demands from non-Orthodox Jews in particular for equal religious rights.

It looks now as if Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky has brokered a deal which should be put an end to the unseemly squabbling. Under his compromise plan, the plaza at the Kotel would be extended to include the area known as Robinson’s Arch where egalitarian services are already allowed.

Some commentators, not unreasonably, have wondered why Progressive Jews have taken such an interest in the site when the restoration of the Temple has never been part of Reform theology. The Kotel has been embraced as a national shrine, whereas a more radical Progressive response might have viewed it with more critical distance on account of its origins.

We usually speak of there having been two Temples. But as Professor Simon Goldhill points out in his book The Temple of Jerusalem, there were actually three buildings: the Temple of Solomon, of Zerubbabel, who rebuilt it after the return of the exiles from Babylon, and Herod the Great in the latter end of the first century BCE.

Herod did more than the ancient equivalent of adding on a conservatory and loft extension: he completely rebuilt the Temple, enhancing its splendour. The Western Wall was one of the retaining walls built to support the platform on which Herod raised his brilliant edifice. According to Goldhill, “the construction of the Temple was the most grandiose act of self-promotion, the capstone of a building programme throughout the kingdom, designed to proclaim Herod a famous and popular man of power for future generations to admire.”

Whatever its motivation, the Herodian enterprise was rather different in spirit from the biblical Temple. Unlike the Tabernacle, the First Temple was not commanded. King David, having built himself a “house of cedar”, is troubled that the ark of God dwells only “within curtains” and thinks it should be housed in something grander.

After a seemingly lukewarm reception to the idea, God promises that David’s son will build a “house for My name”. When Solomon gets down to the task, he notes that his father could not “because of the wars which were about him on every side” (I Kings 5:3). One possible interpretation is that David was simply too busy with the conquest of his kingdom to have time for such an ambitious project.

Only in the First Book of Chronicles comes the now familiar, and more spiritually elevated, reason for David being denied the honour of building the Temple. “But the word of the Lord came to me, saying… ‘You shall not build a house to My name because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight’” (22:7).

The purity and spiritual integrity of the Temple is emphasised elsewhere. When the prophet Ezekiel later imagines its reconstruction, the divine message is that the house of Israel shall no more defile it, “neither they, nor their kings”.

When King Cyrus allows the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to build the Second Temple, he attributes it to divine inspiration (Ezra 1-2). The leaders of the Jews, Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, were all religious heroes who variously sought to institute the regular reading of the Torah or protect Shabbat observance.

Under no stretch of the imagination could Herod be thought a spiritual role model. He seized the throne by force with the aid of Rome in 37 BCE and in the course of his 40 year-reign, put to death most of the Sanhedrin (the rabbinic court), his wife, two of his sons and his mother-in-law. His substantial building work also included a Greek theatre and a hippodrome — not exactly the rabbis’ favourite places.

If David was unable to erect the Temple because of blood on his hands, that did not stop Herod.

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, Herod “destroyed in the full eastern hellensistic tradition, all members of the Hasmonean House whose existence seemed to him to endanger his position”. While the Temple may have been an attempt to win the hearts of his subjects, he was nonetheless regarded as “the destroyer of their traditional institutions, the murderer of their kings and leaders and the agent of a foreign government”.

As Goldhill notes, the Western Wall had “no religious significance” in Herod’s own day: it was an outer supporting wall of the Temple compound, not part of the religious structure.

Over time the Kotel has become hallowed as a focus of Jewish messianic yearnings. But as the forthcoming festival of Shavuot reminds us, revelation did not take place in the city or the gilded monuments of kings but in the barren, empty space of the wilderness.

Elstree selects its man

Simon Rocker — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:09:16 +0100

Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue, which has been without a senior rabbi for nearly two years, could be close to plugging the gap at the top after leaders named the man they want.

Rabbi Chaim Kanterovitz, the minister of Manchester’s Yeshurun Synagogue and previously of Kenton Synagogue, will visit the Hertfordshire congregation next month ahead of a members’ ballot on his appointment.

But a plan to retain Rabbi Shimshon Silkin, interim minister since September 2011, by asking him to lead a Borehamwood satellite minyan at Yavneh College will not go ahead.

Damian Schogger, a former board member of the congregation, said Rabbi Kanterovitz was a “lovely guy — he married us at Kenton. After several years of turbulence, I hope that the management has made the right decision. We are a massive community and need strong leadership.”

The 1,300-family congregation has been without a permanent spiritual leader since Rabbi Naftali Brawer left in August 2011. Rabbi Silkin, whose contract expires in July, was considered for the senior rabbinical position a year ago but passed over despite enjoying strong support among sections of the community. In the ensuing fallout over the recruitment process, the then chairman and two honorary officers quit.

Stephen Forman, who took over as chairman to lead the search for a minister, said “Rabbi Kanterovitz and his wife Bianca are a dynamic and inspirational rabbinic team who really impressed both the selection advisory group and the board of management. We’re very excited about the prospect of them joining our community.”
Leeds-born Rabbi Kanterovitz describes himself as modern Orthodox. He and his South African wife have five children and have been at Yeshurun since 2003.

In a Facebook post, a rabbinic colleague, Zvi Solomons, wrote that Borehamwood would be “lucky” to have Rabbi Kanterovitz. “He’s the perfect fit.”

Although sorry to leave Manchester, Rabbi Kanterovitz said “the prospect of a new challenge in such a vibrant and growing community is one that we’ll relish”.

In correspondence to members, Borehamwood’s officers wrote: “Over the last few months a great deal of time and effort has been spent with Rabbi Silkin in exploring various opportunities involving not just representatives of Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue but also the United Synagogue professionals and trustees.

“These discussions resulted in a proposal being drawn up detailing the further development of a Southside satellite community under Rabbi Silkin’s leadership. After careful deliberation and to our great disappointment, Rabbi Silkin has now advised us that he has decided to withdraw from these discussions.” Rabbi Silkin declined to comment further.But Mr Schogger hoped a role could be found for Rabbi Silkin and his wife Sarah. “It would be a great loss if we could not accommodate them in some shape or form.”
Both the selection committee and board of management were asked by Mr Forman to sign confidentiality agreements during the search.

US chief executive Jeremy Jacobs said: “It is standard US policy for all those engaged in a local rabbinic selection to be bound by confidentiality and a confidentiality agreement is sent out for signature. This is designed to protect both the community and the applicants.”

US addressing the needs of the next Chief Rabbi

Simon Rocker — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:04:38 +0100

Once the Chief Rabbi had to live in London’s East End. For more than a century, holders of the office dwelt closer to the West End, in Hamilton Terrace, St John’s Wood.

But the next Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, will have his home further out in the suburbs. The United Synagogue has confirmed that Rabbi Mirvis, who lives near his Finchley Synagogue, will be moving to an address in Hendon.He will also be equipped with a West End base to meet and entertain guests, which is to be developed for him at Central Synagogue. Rabbi Baruch Davis, chairman of the Rabbinical Council of the US, believed “people will welcome the Chief Rabbi living in the heart of the Jewish community.

“There has been a geographical shift over the years and this is a reflection of it.”
US president Stephen Pack said: “Having the residence in Hendon will provide a wonderful opportunity for Rabbi Mirvis to connect with and have an impact on the many communities across north-west London which will be within walking distance.”

The Central Synagogue base would provide “a prestigious central London environment for our next Chief Rabbi to host honoured guests as well as holding formal receptions”.

But no decision had been taken on Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks’s residence in Hamilton Terrace — which it is said could be worth in the region of £10 million.

The US said the property was in “need of significant renovation” and all options about its future were being explored.

Benjamin: 'Timing is right' to leave the Board

Simon Rocker — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:26:41 +0100

The Board of Deputies has released a statement this morning over the departure of Jon Benjamin, its chief executive for the past eight years.

Deputies were told that Mr Benjamin had begun handing over his responsibilities to colleagues to ensure a "smooth handover" without "undue delay".

In the statement, Mr Benjamin says: “It is with mixed emotions that I announce my departure from the Board of Deputies of British Jews after eight and a half years. There’s never an ideal time to leave an organisation, but personally the timing feels right. The demands of the role are relentless and it would not be right for me to try to continue as Chief Executive whilst pursuing the new and different opportunities that I have beckoning.”

He said he was proud to have represented the Board in the media and elsewhere, becoming “the voice of the Board on many of the most topical issues of the day”.

Board president Vivian Wineman, commenting on Mr Benjamin’s departure – revealed by the JC yesterday evening – said; “Quite literally, from his first week in the post, Jon has steered the Board through some of the toughest challenges. His level-headedness, tact and sound advice has been a constant source of support for me particularly but also for successive presidents and honorary officers, and gained him the respect, admiration and loyalty of his professional colleagues, both within and beyond the organisation".

Mr Wineman said: "Whether it is his finely crafted comments to the media, which always hit just the right spot, his willingness to find time for colleagues on the smallest of matters, his seemingly endless patience in dealing with colleagues and deputies or his knowledge of every facet of the Board’s work, his contribution and professional leadership will be greatly missed and we wish him well for the future.”

'Koran backs Jewish claims to Jerusalem,' Sheikh tells synagogue

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:30:00 +0100

A Muslim preacher argued that the Koran backs Jewish claims to Jerusalem at a Jerusalem Day celebration in London this week.

Rome-based Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi told an audience at Edgware Synagogue that he found it “intolerable” that “no one questions the rights of Catholics to St Peter’s, or of Muslims to Mecca, but so many question the rights of Jews to Jerusalem”.

Interpreting a passage from the Koran, he said that “even if Jews were expelled from the city and scattered all over the world, the time will come when they will be running to the city, coming from every different place”.

Sheikh Palazzi was speaking at the launch of a film about Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, which has been produced by the Springboard Education Trust.

In it, he says that there is “no reason for Muslims to deny the state of Israel — which is a Jewish state — complete sovereignty of Jerusalem”.

Chief Rabbi-elect Ephraim Mirvis also spoke at the event, which was jointly organised by Springboard and the Zionist Federation. Rabbi Mirvis described Jerusalem as “the beating heart of the Jewish nation”.

Students tell Israel to stop Bedouin ‘eviction’

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:00 +0100

Jewish youth and students in Britain have protested to Israeli leaders over a proposed Knesset bill to relocate Bedouin families who live in the Negev desert.

The Union of Jewish Students, the Progressive Zionist movement Pro Zion and four youth movements — Habonim, LJY-Netzer, RSY-Netzer and Noam Masorti — urged Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Finance Minister Yair Lapid to put a halt to the legislation.

In a letter, they wrote: “As Zionist organisations who care about the state of Israel, we cannot allow the expulsion of 40,000 Bedouin, and deny the Bedouin a fair opportunity to hold on to their ancestral lands.”

Israel’s image and standing in the world would be “significantly eroded” if the bill went ahead.

They called on the government to give official recognition to all existing Bedouin villages and accept land ownership claims made over the past 40 years.

“The Bedouin community constitutes 30 per cent of the Negev population, and their demands involve only 5.4 per cent of its land,” the groups stated.

“There has never been a fair process for examining their demands, and most of the land claims the government invited the Bedouin to submit in the 1970s were never processed, one way or the other.

“Evicting 40,000 people from their ancestral homes; cutting them off from their sources of income and destroying their social fabric and way of life will only increase problems.”

Sam Cohen, movement worker for the Liberal LJY-Netzer, said that all the signatories were members of the UK Task Force on Issues Relating to Arab Citizens of Israel.

“We all passionately believe in the Jewish homeland and believe that Israel should be a land which acts on Jewish principles of justice,” he said.

Board of Deputies chief executive Jon Benjamin leaves

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:55:26 +0100

Jon Benjamin, the chief executive of the Board of Deputies for the past eight years, is leaving the organisation, the JC has learned.

Mr Benjamin, who is 48 and came to the Board from the education fundraising charity British Ort, did not wish to comment at this stage.

But a statement from the Board on his departure is expected shortly.

Senior vice-president Laura Marks said: “We’re very sad to lose him.”

Speculation has been growing that the Board and Jewish Leadership Council are on the way to agreeing a merger between the two organisations.

Mr Benjamin's departure would make JLC chief executive Jeremy Newmark the likeliest head of any joint enterprise.

Progress for women at Federation synagogues

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:30:00 +0100

Women in the Federation of Synagogues have for the first time been elected to the management board of a congregation.

Yeshurun Synagogue in Edgware took the historic step on Tuesday, voting five women to its 12-person board.

Five years had elapsed since the head of the Federation’s Beth Din, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, issued a ruling to permit women to be elected but no congregation until now had gone for change.

Yeshurun leaders argued that the perceived treatment of women was deterring potential new members from joining it.

Unlike in the United Synagogue — where the first female congregational chairmen were elected this month — women cannot be synagogue officers in the Federation and the board must retain a male majority.

Dayan Lichtenstein said as long as the congregations adhered to the “clear halachic parameters I have given, it’s ok.”

No more talk of Gryn Affair, says Hugo's wife

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:30:00 +0100

Jackie Gryn, the widow of the late Reform leader Rabbi Hugo Gryn, has insisted she has always enjoyed a warm relationship with Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and appealed for no more talk of a “Hugo Gryn Affair”.

Parallels have been drawn between Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner’s recent decision not to go to the funeral of Baroness Thatcher and the Chief Rabbi’s absence from Rabbi Gryn’s funeral in 1996.

But in a letter to the JC this week, Mrs Gryn called for a line to be drawn.

Mrs Gryn wrote: “I feel the time has come for me to lay to rest, once and for all , the idea… that there ever was a ‘Hugo Gryn Affair’, as far as I am concerned, regarding the absence of the Chief Rabbi at the funeral of my late husband, Hugo.”

She said it was “deeply distressing to myself and to Jonathan Sacks” that the issue was still being talked about.

Relations between her and the Chief Rabbi have “always been warm and collegial”. The Chief Rabbi had been “most sympathetic” when he phoned on hearing news of her husband’s death. “From the beginning, relations were cordial and sympathetic and have remained so,” she wrote. “There has never been any personal grievance between us concerning his non-attendance at the funeral, which promoted such venomous and divisive comments and regrettably continues to do so.”

Several months after Rabbi Gryn’s death, the Chief Rabbi paid tribute to him at a memorial event. But a leaked letter to the Charedi establishment in which he spoke of his conflict over attending the event ignited controversy.

Sephardim vote in new rabbinic head with massive majority

Simon Rocker — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:32 +0100

Rabbi Joseph Dweck is to be the new senior rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation after winning a massive of vote of confidence from its membership.

They voted by 270 votes to four to endorse the executive’s choice of the 37-year-old rabbi, who has heads a Sephardi congregation in New York.

Rabbi Dweck, who received his rabbinic ordination from Israel’s former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, impressed congregants during a visit to the UK last week ahead of the crucial vote.

His election will herald a new era for the community after the retirement of Rabbi Abraham Levy as its spiritual head last summer.

The wrong kind of spectacle

Simon Rocker — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:32:57 +0100

The one thing you could say about Woody Allen’s glasses is that they are not making a fashion statement. But according to website FailedMessiah, the style of specs worn by the director have been deemed too “modern” and “goyishe” by one Chasidic yeshivah and its students have been told not to wear them.

Federation shul is pushing to get women on board

Simon Rocker — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:59:52 +0100

Edgware’s Yeshurun Synagogue is bidding to become the first Federation congregation to elect women to its board of management.

Yeshurun president Russell Grossman will propose the historic move at an extraordinary meeting next Wednesday.

In an email to members, Mr Grossman said that it had been “a source of frustration to many women in our community for a long time that they are not permitted to have a vote in the annual elections or be members of the shul in their own right”.

It had been five years, he noted, since the head of the Federation Beth Din, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, had issued a ruling which “paved the way for women’s full involvement in synagogue affairs, subject to certain halachic conditions”.

The shul’s officers had been “repeatedly implored by a large number of women within the community to address this issue in practical terms for Yeshurun”.

While the Federation collectively was heading towards greater participation of women, he explained, “progress has ended up being too slow and my honorary officers and I feel that we need to go faster”.

Under the proposed revisions, married women will be able to take out membership separate from their husbands and have voting rights.

Up to five places on the board of 12 will be available to women, preserving a male majority. The offices of president, warden and financial representative will continue to be reserved for men.

Papers sent out in advance of the meeting note that one reason given by potential members for not joining Yeshurun was the “perceived treatment of women”.

One Yeshurun congregant, Miriam Gitlin-Leigh, reflected this week: “We have been working for this for many years and hopefully it will come to fruition.”

Mr Grossman reported that the synagogue’s rabbi, Alan Lewis, had been consulted and was “fully supportive” of the changes.

The Federation, meanwhile, is in the process of adopting a new constitution will which enable women to join its council.

Currently all council members are trustees.

But in future only the seven male honorary officers will be trustees, ensuring that the ultimate authority of the organisation remains vested in men, in accordance with the halachic requirements laid down by its Beth Din.

Hendon shul joins Federation

Simon Rocker — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:02:30 +0100

A newly established community in Hendon, Nishmas Yisroel, has joined the Federation of Synagogues.

Its rabbi, Dovid Tugendhaft, was previously minister of Ohr Yisroel, the Federation synagogue in Elstree.
Federation chief executive Eli Keinwald described Nishmas Yisroel as “the fastest growing minyan in north-west London.

“It’s fantastic news. We are hopeful they will add youth, energy and vigour to the Federation.”

Chief rabbi to live in Hendon

Simon Rocker — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:52:28 +0100

The next Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, is to live in Hendon, rather than St Johns’ Wood as his predecessor, it was announced today.

The Central Synagogue in the West End of London will serve as his city base, with plans to provide a reception and other meeting rooms for him.

United Synagogue president Stephen Pack said: “Chief Rabbi-elect Mirvis and Rebbetzen Mirvis are looking forward with much excitement to their move.

“Having the residence in Hendon will provide a wonderful opportunity for Rabbi Mirvis to connect with and have an impact on the many communities across North West London which will be within walking distance.

“As well as providing an ideal private home, this arrangement provides a prestigious central London environment for our next Chief Rabbi to host honoured guests as well as holding formal receptions.”

But the US has said that no decision has been taken over the future of the current Chief Rabbi’s residence in Hamilton Terrace.

The administrative offices of the Chief Rabbinate will remain in North Finchley.

Rabbi Mirvis, who currently lives in Finchley, is due to take office on September 1.

Community is ‘divided and can’t fund itself’

Simon Rocker — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:00:13 +0100

Jewish organisations need to attract a wider donor base, support innovation and encourage greater cross-communal collaboration, a new report recommends.

It also says that synagogue buildings could be used more widely for social and cultural purposes.

The report was commissioned by the Jewish Leadership Council as part of its “community vitality” project to guide policy-makers and philanthropists on future investment.

Produced by Dr Keith Kahn-Harris, co-author of a book on contemporary British Jewry, it was based on conversations with 140 communal activists in 14 focus groups across the country.

On the positive side, the UK Jewish community is “in many ways a vital one” with “an extraordinary range of services” on offer, Dr Kahn Harris says in a draft of the report.

But there is concern about whether the current level of activity is financially viable without a larger network of contributors.

One participant in the focus groups said: “The reality is that the community can’t fund itself any longer. Every part of the community is short of funding, and the reason for that is not because the community’s poor, this community is far wealthier than it ever has been. There are individuals who have amassed great wealth, but the amount of Jewish giving or giving to Jewish causes has declined dramatically.”

Also apparent is a strong dislike of communal conflict and division, making it often “stressful and frustrating” to work within the Jewish community.

“What I don’t like about the community is that we are so fractionalised and there is so little respect between people who are perceived as belonging to different groups,” one activist said.

Instead, organisational clashes should be better managed and dialogue promoted between different sections of British Jewry — including with the Charedi community.

The JLC’s community chest and other funding bodies should restrict grants to groups who can show evidence of “joint working” and “cross-communal collaboration”, the report recommends.

It also calls for more funding to be available to “innovative new projects”, although some participants were sceptical about central organisations being involved.

In most eyes, synagogues remain a “backbone of Jewish community”, although some only “reluctantly” acknowledge their central role.

But there is a belief that they could be “more vital places” if they were to open their doors to youth movements and other groups to run activities. “There’s no reason why synagogues have to be boring old horrible places,” one participant said.

Some activists feel that greater vitality is not a question of more money. “For things that really concern us, money is not a limiting factor, it’s personnel,” one said. Another believed there had been “an under-investment in people, programmes and content” compared with buildings.

JLC chief executive Jeremy Newmark said that the report was “the first stage in opening up a conversation across the community as to how we can work together to improve engagement and vitality across the Jewish landscape”.

American sociologist Professor Steven Cohen has been already been asked by the JLC to investigate how to take further the ideas on extending synagogue use.