‘We will be each other’s resources, and I think that will be worth its weight in gold’

With around two thirds of the UK’s roughly 270,000 Jews situated in London or neighbouring Hertfordshire, discourse within the UK Jewish community about organising events, tackling issues, and cultivating unity often feels very centred around the capital.

The remaining 90,000-odd, who are spread out between more than 70 communities in the UK, face different circumstances pertaining to similar challenges but on a more localised scale.

Recognition of these differences, and the specialised support needed by leaders of the UK’s smaller Jewish communities, has inspired the inaugural Empowering Leadership Programme run by the Jewish Small Communities Network (JSCN).

Over the year-long initiative, leaders from the UK’s small Jewish communities are attending ten two-hour long guest speaker sessions, with topics including understanding a community’s history, fundraising strategies, and ways to measure impact.

Ed Horwich, who grew up in Southport, founded the JSCN as a small-scale project in 2003. It became a fully-fledged charity in 2016 as the demand for the organisation’s guidance and wisdom spiralled.

Speaking to the JC, he explained: “Large and small communities face many of the same issues, but the nuances and the ways of tackling them are different.

“A good community needs good leaders. The leaders we have are doing a hell of a job with little resources. Giving them more interaction with other leaders and a much bigger toolbox will help them do their jobs a lot more easily.”

A staged photo of Ed Horwich in discussion (photo: JSCN)[Missing Credit]

Those two facets of the course – hearing from experts about leadership techniques and developing a network of peers in similar circumstances – indeed appear to be the primary benefits of the programme.

“The Jewish context, the camaraderie, and the widening of our horizons is what I am really keen on,” said Dany Louise, one of the participants on the course, who is part of the Jewish community in Hastings.

Previously, Louise worked for around 25 years in the publicly subsidised arts, serving as creative industries manager on the Brighton & Hove council, teaching in universities, and writing arts journalism pieces.

She told us that during her time in the arts, leadership courses akin to these mushroomed, but they never piqued her interest. This course, however, is different, due to how tailored it is to her circumstances.

“It’s effectively a peer support group, where we all feel we can draw on each other,” she said. “What I think you need as a leader are people to talk things through with who have a similar level of experience.”

The group has had three of their ten meetings so far. Louise particularly enjoyed Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum’s session which explored how Jewish texts, values, and principles can inform leadership strategies – “it was entirely new to me and I really loved that,” Louise said.

Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum (photo: JSCN)[Missing Credit]

Sessions take place over video call, since the 16 participants are dispersed nationwide, but they will all come together next month at the midpoint of the course for a weekend retreat in Brighton.

“You never know in the future what’s around the corner and what you might want support on, so I think to have that countrywide cohort will be an enormous resource – we will be each other’s resources, and I think that will be worth its weight in gold,” Louise said.

Other sessions include a pair on adaptive and transformative leadership from Kisharon Langdon’s COO Michelle Janes, and one on translating Jewish values into tangible actions from Susie Gordon, CEO of the Leeds Jewish Representative Council.

The Jewish population of Horwich’s hometown Southport declined from around 4,500 Jews in the 1960s to just 300 in the late 1990s. This course, which he describes as “my baby”, he hopes will help to halt that ebb in other communities.

“Community leaders are under huge demand and they have precious time to actually build up their skill set – that’s where we come in,” he said.

Stuart Diamond, the head of community engagement at JSCN, was responsible for recruiting participants for the course. He accumulated a melting pot of individuals, with all sorts of professional and personal backgrounds, and ages ranging from people in their 30s to others in their 70s.

“The programme is about fostering a sense of pride and agency, proving that no matter the size of your community, you can lead with confidence and vision.”

Click here to find out more about the JSCN Empowering Leadership Programme.

Ed Horwich’s five top tips for leadership in a small Jewish community

1.⁠ ⁠Empower those around you. Encourage others to take responsibility in leading within different projects and differing parts of the community.

2.⁠ ⁠Be humble. Understand that others may have a better idea or answer. A leader should do more listening than anything else.

3.⁠ ⁠Leaders serve. Listen to stories and get to know the individuals across the community, not just in your bubble.

4.⁠ ⁠Have a vision. Find ways to bring your community forward with your vision – that way they will be inspired to help you find the detail of making it work.

5.⁠ ⁠Be prepared and adaptable. Leadership is not about being rigid. It is the ability to respond to challenges.

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Topics:

Jewish Small Communities Network

Southport

Hastings

Brighton & Hove

Topics:

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