Young British leaders played a prominent role in a Berlin conference designed to help “revitalise Jewish communities across Europe”.
Joel Stanley, 33, and Debbie Danon, 28, were among the participants in Shifting Thought, Shifting Action — a three-day gathering of young “change-makers” from 20 European countries.
Mr Stanley, director of international planning for Moishe House, said the Britons brought a strong voice to the conference, given that Anglo-Jewish organisations had “a lot going on which is innovative.
“We also got a sense of the issues that different communities in Europe are facing. And what really emerged was a sense of optimism. Despite what some people may think, European Jewish communities are in good health.”
Ms Danon, training and partnerships manager for the Three Faiths Forum, said: “It was really encouraging to see that the younger generation of Jewish leaders are concerned in how we engage beyond the Jewish community. The British Jewish community has great success in projects which reach out.” The forum will assist in schemes organised by the European Union of Jewish Students and Minyanim, an Eastern European Jewish leadership group.
Charlie Kane, Liana Etkind, Liat Rosenthal, Shoshana Boyd Gelfand and Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg were among others representing Britain at the conference, where participants were encouraged to stay connected through online social networking.
