'I talked myself out of a job at JW3 - but tensions were rising'

Her UJIA role adds to her voluntary positions as trustee of the Jewish Quarterly and the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (Bicom), which seeks to advance the image of Israel here.

We have to be very honest about Israel. It has its problems but there are ways you can connect

Mrs Jacobs stepped down as JW3 deputy chair in September and now admits that she clashed with chief executive Raymond Simonson.

"When I went to JW3, I think it was difficult for Raymond to have me breathing down is neck, so I stepped back," she recalls. "They did things differently to the way I would have approached them.

"It was only fair to let them build up the kind of organisation they wanted.

"It wasn't easy for me to step back. It was really hard, actually.

"People say: 'You talked yourself out of a job.' I did.

"I didn't want there to be any bad feelings and tensions were beginning to rise. [Stepping down] was the best thing to do."

And although the merger "was for so many reasons the right thing to have happened", it was important to remember that "LJCC was a special place held in great affection by so many people. I would like to see JW3 build the same type of relationship with the community and be talked about as fondly."

The Hampstead Garden Synagogue member admits that the communal furore sparked by the merger has dissuaded her from seeking further paid appointments within the community.

So while she is open to lay leadership opportunities, in her professional life she is working with close friend Nicola Cobbold (trustee and former chief executive of the Portland Trust) on a new consulting initiative. They are "talking to a number of large non-Jewish charities about mergers and investments".

She was a corporate PR before working in private equity with her father Sir Harry Solomon, the Portland Trust co-founder, who made his fortune as a leading player in the food industry.

Mrs Jacobs explains that "if I give my time for free, I want to give it to Jewish charities. I don't want a paid role as a chief executive again in the community. I can make a difference on a trustee level.

"When I was chief executive of the LJCC, I answered to my chairman. I would now like to think that I have got enough experience to give back in a non-paid capacity. The pressure is not quite the same - a chief executive gets very tied up in day-to-day management. I can take a big, broad brush picture.

"There are some trustees [of communal organisations] who micro-manage - that is not the job of a trustee. If you feel you have to be there every day at the organisation, you don't have the right team."

So if she is not after a chief executive role, is she being groomed to succeed Bill Benjamin as UJIA chair?

"Bill is doing a great job," she says. "He has got a bit longer to do and then we will see. If I do it, it's a huge commitment. But I don't want to do it because they want to put a woman in place. I want to do it because I am the best person for the job. I don't want tokenism."

She suggests that in the past, UJIA "may have been" perceived as too one-sided in its Zionism - or as an organisation that just runs holidays for young people.

About the latter, she says: "I understand it is a criticism and concern. Is the UJIA all about a trip to Israel where people have a good time? No, it's not all about that. We have to make those trips more meaningful.

"I have a strong belief that younger people need to strengthen their identity with Israel. It is a difficult job at the moment because of everything Israel stands for but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

"We have to be very honest about Israel. It has its problems and its issues but there are ways you can connect around that."

Husband Alan is in private equity and the couple have three children - Sam 23, James 20 and Kate 17.