LJ Today May/June 2015

May/June 2015 VOL. XLII No. 3

Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism

www.liberaljudaism.org

ljtoday

Collaborate, contemplate, celebrate

By Ed Herman

L

IBERAL JEWS from all across the country will gather in London on Sunday June 7 for our movement’s biggest event of the year – the Day of Celebration 2015. Tickets are still available for this fascinating and unique conference, which will explore our relationship with Israel.

Whether you embrace Israel wholeheartedly, or are grappling with her policies and your relationship to the Jewish State, the wide-ranging agenda has something for everyone.

Our keynote speaker is Rabbi Miri Gold, the first non-Orthodox rabbi in Israel to have her salary paid by the government.

We will also welcome Leo Baeck Education Center’s Rabbi Ofek Meir, Reut Michaeli of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants in Israel, a senior Israeli VIP and rabbis and leaders from Liberal Judaism.

The Day of Celebration offers a huge range of workshops, delivered by outstanding educators, Liberal rabbis and charities from both Israel and the UK. Delegates will have a chance to take part in two workshops, and a lunchtime taster session, from a choice of 25. Topics include the history of the State of Israel, the Israeli political landscape, Hebrew poetry, Israeli film, the Israel conflict in the media and Jewish community, the anti-Zionism of early Liberal Jews, the Liberal Jewish values of the Hebrew

Rabbi Miri Gold and Reut Michaeli are coming from Israel to speak at the LJ Day of Celebration

prophets, food, dance and Israeli liturgical music. See page 4 for more information on this packed programme.

The day will close with a special ceremony, at which the coveted Liberal Academy of Film and Torah Awards (LAFTAs) will be awarded. This project encourages children within our communities to produce a film of 2-3 minutes envisioning life in Israel in all its varieties and diversities.

The Day of Celebration is truly intergenerational. Our youth movement, LJY-Netzer, is closely connected to Israel through its ideology. Its amazing team of leaders will be running an event in which young people can experience Israel in a day - exploring the desert, kayaking the Jordan River, soaking up Tel Aviv’s culture and discovering what Judaism really means to them. Activities will be split, with school years 1-4 and 5-7 grouped together (older year groups will be able to attend the main conference).

LORD CAREY, the former archbishop of Canterbury, used a meeting at Liberal Judaism’s head office to reveal why he came to change his mind on assisted dying. Speaking at the regular interfaith Dignity in Dying group meeting, convened by Reform Judaism’s Rabbi Jonathan Romain, he explained that “the old philosophical certainties have

We are privileged that The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) in St John’s Wood, Liberal Judaism’s oldest and largest community, will be hosting this year’s Day of Celebration. The LJS is a fully accessible building. We are also delighted to announce that Liberal Judaism will be subsidising travel for those living outside the M25, see page 4 for details on how to apply.

The Day of Celebration guarantees fascinating conversation and a celebration of what makes Liberal Judaism unique – all in just one day, all in great company and all for only £25 (children are £12, with family tickets for two adults and up to four kids for £50).

10,000 Liberal Jews. 40 Communities. 1 Day. Will you be there?

• Book your Day of Celebration tickets at www.tinyurl.com/LJDoC2015 - or by contacting Yael Shotts on 020 7631 9824 or y.shotts@liberaljudaism.org collapsed in the face of the reality of needless suffering”.

Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich - pictured left with Lord Carey and Rabbi Romain - said: “Lord Carey was very moving and instructive in reminding all of us that it is possible – and sometimes right – to change ones long-held and steadfast views.”

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News

May/June 2015

Meet Liberal Judaism’s Mazel tov... new director of youth

BECCA FETTERMAN has joined Liberal Judaism as the movement’s director of youth. Below, in an exclusive interview with lj today, Becca talks about her background, passion for working with young people and hopes for the job: Can you tell our members about the role of director of youth and what your job will involve?

It is my job to support the movement workers in Liberal Judaism’s youth group LJY-Netzer to be able to do what they do best: delivering innovative and inspiring experiences. I will also be looking strategically at all the youth, student and young adult provision within Liberal Judaism and ensuring continuity and developments within that provision.

When did you first get involved with Progressive Jewish youth movements?

Before I was born! My parents met through YASGB, the forerunner to Reform Judaism’s youth movement RSY-Netzer.

My older brother and sister, and all my cousins, went on camp, so I couldn’t wait to be old enough to attend. I attended my first RSY-Netzer event at the age of nine and absolutely loved it. The madrichim (leaders) were, in my eyes, so cool and so passionate about real things. I was completely inspired and pretty much never missed an event from then on. I took part in the Shnat Netzer gap year programme in Israel and then became a movement worker.

Tell us a little about yourself - both personally and professionally.

My experiences in Progressive Jewish youth movements inspired me in so many ways, not least in my career choice. I studied youth and community work at university and have been a professional youth worker since 2000. I have worked in a variety of settings, most recently managing the targeted youth work team for Buckinghamshire County Council. I also met my husband Andrew through being involved in youth movements and we have two girls Noa and Tali.

• GABRIEL WEBBER, Abigail Jacobi and Miriam Steiner were named by The Jewish News as three of the people set to “define Anglo Jewry in the decades to come”. LJY-Netzer bogeret (graduate) Miriam was ranked at 13 in the newspaper’s ’25 under 25’ list, while Liberal Judaism outreach coordinator Abigail was placed 11th. The paper praised Abigail’s work at Limmud, especially in making the conference accessible for participants with learning difficulties and other special needs.

LJY-Netzer movement worker Gabriel, pictured above, was named as the seventh most important young Jew in Britain. Noting his “uncompromising Liberal Zionism” and rhetorical skills, the paper praised Gabriel for successfully fighting for both Yachad’s inclusion at the Board of Deputies and the defeat of a motion to boycott Israel at the University of Sussex.

What are your hopes and goals for this new job over the next year?

I am really excited to be working somewhere that fits both my personal Progressive Jewish values and my passion for empowering youth work.

At the moment I am getting to know the LJY-Netzer team with the goal of using my professional experience and skills to support them in delivering their programs with all the same excitement, fun, passion and professionalism that LJY-Netzer is known for.

Finally how can young Liberal Jews and their parents get more involved?

LJY-Netzer has a full program of events for Liberal youth of all ages, including the amazing Machaneh Kadimah summer camp. See www.ljy-netzer.org or email me on r.fetterman@liberaljudaism.org

• JOYCE ROTHSCHILD, pictured above, was honoured by The Jewish Chronicle as one of Britain’s Top 10 Menches, thanks to a remarkable fund-raising drive for Macmillan Cancer Support. The charity has now received £100,000 from the proceeds of an annual quiz Joyce devised in gratitude for cancerbeating treatment she was given at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital in her early 40s.

Joyce, a member of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, has been running the event for 18 years with teams and competitors coming from all over Britain and abroad.

Communities

May/June 2015

LJ Today Page 3

Purim and Pesach in pictures

Elstree

Woodford

South London

Bet Tikvah

Crouch End

York

Finchley

Southgate

Brighton & Hove

Norwich

Liberal Jewish Synagogue

Birmingham

Manchester

Northwood & Pinner

Eastbourne

Stevenage

Bedfordshire

Gloucestershire

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Day of Celebration

May/June 2015

Something for everyone WHETHER you think about Israel every day, or not at all. Whether you fully support the Jewish State or are worried about the direction the Government is taking. Liberal Judaism’s Day of Celebration 2015 has something for you.

We guarantee fascinating conversation and a celebration of what makes Liberal Judaism unique – all in great company.

The programme looks like this: 9:30–10:30 Arrival and registration 10:30–11:30 Welcome and keynote speech by Rabbi Miri Gold 11:30–12:45 Workshop 1: choose one of 10 sessions on offer 12:45–13:45 Catch up with fellow Liberal Jews over lunch or attend one of five lunchtime taster sessions 13:45–15:00 Workshop 2: choose one of 10 sessions on offer 15:00–16:30 Closing speech, LAFTAs screening and closing ceremony We will be kicking off the day with our keynote speaker, Rabbi Miri Gold. Hear what Progressive Jewish life is like in her community on Kibbutz Gezer in Israel, and learn from her experiences of the battle for state funding for the salaries of non-Orthodox municipal rabbis.

You will be spoiled for choice afterwards – choosing from the 25 sessions on offer in two workshop slots and optional lunchtime taster sessions.

Sessions on offer, delivered by outstanding Israel educators and Liberal Jewish rabbis, include: • An introduction to the history of the State of Israel.

• An overview of the Israeli political landscape today.

• Hebrew poetry and Israeli film.

• Dr Keith Kahn-Harris on how the Israel conflict is discussed in the Jewish community.

• The anti-Zionism of Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck and other early Liberal Jews.

• Rabbi Alexandra Wright on how the Liberal Jewish values of the Hebrew prophets inspire her to engage with the policies of the State of Israel and the work of Rabbis for Human Rights.

• Exploring the inspiring work of Israeli charities, such as the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants in Israel.

• Exploring the work of UK based charities working in Israel, such as the UK Task Force.

• Student Cantor Sarah Grabiner, who will have just returned from a year in Israel, will teach some of the inspiring new Israeli liturgical music.

We will close the event with a special ceremony, including a screening and presentation of the coveted LAFTAs. This is a project which encourages children within our communities to engage with the Day of Celebration (see page 10 for more details). The prize for the best film, of a trophy and £50 for the winning religion school, will be awarded by our special guest Israeli VIP, who will also speak as part of the closing ceremony.

For the first time ever, those in school years 8 and above will be able to take part in the main Day of Celebration. And there’s also an amazing LJY-Netzer parallel event for younger children in school years 1-7, who can visit all of Israel in just one day.

LJY-Netzer movement worker Tom Francies said: “The Day of Celebration is an amazing opportunity for young people to explore their relationship with Israel, while having fun informal educational sessions delivered by trained madrichim (leaders). There will be age appropriate sessions, so that the participants will have the best experience possible.”

We are privileged to be holding our event at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS), a fully accessible building. It is located at 28 St John’s Wood Road, London, NW8 7HA. The nearest underground station is St John’s Wood on the Jubilee line.

Marylebone station is also close and serves many different lines. Buses run from central London, Camden Town, Cricklewood and Golders Green and include routes 13, 82, 46, 113, 139, 187, 189 and 274. There is limited parking on site. However, as it is a Sunday, street parking is permitted nearby.

Liberal Judaism is also delighted to be able to subsidise travel for all congregations based outside the M25 providing up to 50% of the cost of hiring a coach or minibus for a group of 12 or more travelling together. Congregations that are able to share transportation will be given preference. To get the full guidelines and apply, please contact Yael Shotts on y.shotts@liberaljudaism.org Don’t miss out on a great day of learning, discussion and celebration.

Register your place today by visiting www.tinyurl.com/LJDoC2015 CONGRATULATIONS to Liberal Judaism president Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein, who was elected as a vice president of the European Union for Progressive Judaism at the EUPJ Annual Assembly.

‘We must engage’

Charley Baginsky and Ilan Baron in Israel

By Rabbi Charley Baginsky MUCH COMMENT has been made in the press and on social media about the consequences of the Israeli elections and everywhere you turn, whether in Israel or the British Jewish community, people are talking about it.

During the election period, I spent a week in Israel with Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich and Ilan Baron, of Durham University. We met a range of people – journalists, academics, LJY-Netzer Shnatties and representatives from Bicom, Kumu, IMPJ and the World Union for Progressive Judaism.

It was an incredible trip, which left us with as many questions as answers. A few things, however, are certain.

The first is that Liberal Judaism must continue to have a relationship with Israel. While the election results may have left many in the UK and Israel disillusioned and despairing, the voice of Progressive Judaism is needed more than ever. We have the potential to develop a new model of relationship based in mutuality, learning, dialogue and debate that is constructive and enriching.

The second is that we need to develop a language that couches our Zionism in the heart of our religious dialogue. For too long we have allowed religious Zionism to remain the realm of people whose religious values do not mirror our own.

We need a confident articulation of our belief in the right for a Jewish state to exist while acknowledging that others too have the same right to freedom.

Lastly, engagement is key. We must develop programmes and experiences that not only allow our communities to be in Israel, but also create opportunities for Israelis to experience the richness and pluralism of Diaspora Liberal Jewish life.

The Liberal Judaism Day of Celebration is an incredible way to discuss these issues, challenge your assumptions and learn more. Come and be part of creating a new Diaspora/Israel relationship that has at its heart a Liberal Jewish ethic.

Rabbi Charley Baginsky is chair of the Day of Celebration organising committee

Day of Celebration

May/June 2015

LJ Today Page 5

My Liberal history with Israel Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein looks at the evolving relationship our movement has with Israel IN THE last edition, I wrote about Israel Abrahams. I was pleased to receive emails, including from family members, offering more information. It shows that a wide range of people read lj today and has encouraged me to further investigate this Orthodox scholar, who contributed much to the establishment of Liberal Judaism in this country.

Now let me take this month’s musings from his name... Israel, a name he shared with another of our founders – Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck. Initially Abrahams, like Mattuck and fellow Liberal Judaism founder Claude Montefiore, had negative feelings about Zionism. He later modified his position (unlike the other two). He was a supporter of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and led a campaign to teach modern spoken Hebrew.

But what about my feelings? I suspect like many a Liberal Jew, and many an Anglo Jew, I was not really interested in the State of Israel until the Six Day war in 1967. Another Israel, Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue Israel Brodie, was inducted in the month of the Declaration of Independence of the new State, but didn’t mention it in his induction sermon.

The next year he did introduce a prayer for the State of Israel into the United Synagogue services, but did not include the phrase “reishit tzemichat geulateinu - the beginning of the flowering of our redemption”. Perhaps he saw the establishment of the State in a pragmatic light, not as a religious event.

Growing up I had no family in Israel and I don’t believe it played any part in my religion school education, nor in my early experiences of a Liberal Jewish youth movement. I was five at the time of the Declaration of Independence, but can recall no celebrations.

I sat my 11 plus exam as a stranger in a distant grammar school and it was a frightening experience. Halfway through the first exam, a master, learning my name, said: “Your people killed my brother.” I had no idea what he was talking about. Fortunately I passed and got into the school and later learned that his brother was a British policeman killed while serving in Palestine in 1947.

I wonder if being Jewish in England during the years of struggle, in the late 1930s to the end of the Mandate in 1948, was as difficult as it can be today. I have seen newsreel pictures and newspaper headlines highlighting “Jewish terrorists” killing British servicemen.

I went to university and faced no antiJewish or anti-Zionist comments, even though it was known I was going on to rabbinic college. Indeed, in those days, many non-Jewish students saw it as a rite of passage to go and spend time on a kibbutz. I then went to Leo Baeck College where the requirement was to know the intricacies of Biblical Hebrew grammar, rather than to be able to speak modern Hebrew or even to have visited Israel.

All this changed in the days leading up to the Six Day War. There was a very real fear that the surroundings Arab states would achieve their stated aim - to drive Israel into the sea.

Some of my fellow students sought to go immediately to Israel to help defend the country. We less committed, but no less worried, gave blood and collected blankets. Those still around came to College and I recall at least one lecturer saying: “When Jews are in peril we must redouble our efforts at prayer and study.”

When the war ended so quickly... we really did believe it a miracle. On day seven, our elderly German bible lecturer said: “Now we must give this territory back.” We young gung-ho students thought she was mad. But would history be different if Israel had done so?

While some students did go off to Israel to help out, I stayed at home, continued studying, got ordained and finally travelled to Israel in 1972.

But Liberal Judaism was changing and this was largely due to Rabbi Sidney Brichto, who had brought with him from America a more positive attitude to Zionism. He connected Liberal Judaism with Israel-centred organisations.

Now our feelings about the present State of Israel, our reactions to daily events and how they are portrayed in the media, are a constant concern and challenge to us. An excellent opportunity to help resolve some such problems comes with the Liberal Judaism Day of Celebration on Sunday June 7. Do try to be there: as well as learning more, it will be a sign of your commitment to Liberal Judaism and to the State of Israel.

Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein is president of Liberal Judaism HONORARY ARCHIVIST for Liberal Judaism Bryan Diamond has written to provide more details on Israel Abrahams. The portrait reproduced in the last issue is a truncated copy of the only known one, a pastel drawing by Isaac Cohen hung outside The Liberal Jewish Synagogue’s Israel Abrahams Library. Readers can find more details about his life in Herbert Loewe’s Biographical Sketch (1944, pp vi & 159), the ODNB entry (2010) online and an article by Loewe in The American Jewish Year Book for 1926, pp 219-234 and online.

Liberal Judaism joins prestigious film project LIBERAL JUDAISM is proud to be part of Ritual Reconstructed - a collaborative project which involves working with London-based Jewish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) communities to explore faith rituals which combine both Jewish and LGBTQI identities.

The project is a collaboration between Liberal Judaism/Rainbow Jews, Buckinghamshire New University,

Coventry University and the University of Portsmouth. Funding has been awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Twilight People and Rainbow Jews project manager Surat Shaan Knan said: “This project explores how LGBTQI Jews today feel about their community, how we express our intersecting identities, and how we can work towards greater equality and inclusion.

“I hope many LGBTQI Jews and allies will join us, as we have some really exciting activities lined up.”

Ritual Reconstructed are interested in finding out how being LGBTQI has influenced, shaped or changed Jewish faith rituals and how our Jewish selves have influenced LGBTQI rituals. Anyone who is over 18 and identifies as Jewish and LGBTQI or an ally can get involved by emailing ritualreconstructed@gmail.com

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Social Action

May/June 2015

Standing up for those seeking sanctuary

Liberal Jews and Citizens UK campaigners celebrated a victory as Yvette Cooper announced plans to end the indefinite detention of migrants

MEMBERS OF LIBERAL JUDAISM were among 600 people taking part in the Citizens UK Spring Sanctuary Assembly at the University of Birmingham.

Speakers at the conference included Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP, Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich, the leaders of Birmingham City and Kingston Borough Councils and representatives from the United Nations and many faiths.

An immediate success saw Ms Cooper announce that, should they win the General Election, the Labour Party will ban the indefinite detention of asylum and immigration applicants.

Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative politicians at the event also pledged to do more on Syrian refugee resettlement. Liberal Judaism has played a leading role in the campaign to make sure 1,500 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees are able to be resettled in the UK this year. Calling on local authorities to resettle 50 Syrian refugees each, under the government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, Liberal Jewish communities have been at the forefront of successful actions in Kingston, Redbridge, Birmingham and Brixton.

Writing in The Jewish News after the event, Amelia Viney - the Liberal

Judaism officer with responsibility for social justice – said: “I stood with four communities united by a common heritage – Jewish, Bengali, Congolese and Syrian. Each has sought sanctuary on these shores. We arrived in 1890 and 2015. We arrived by boat, by train and by plane, all journeying to a new home in search of safety, equality and opportunity.

“We came together under the umbrella of Citizens UK, to recognise Britain’s proud legacy of providing sanctuary. We came together – a rainbow of faiths and cultures – to demand the continuing commitment to providing dignity and shelter to the world’s most vulnerable.”

LJ chair tells PM ‘diversity is our strength’

LUCIAN J HUDSON, chairman of Liberal Judaism, joined a delegation of leaders from community group Citizens UK (pictured above) to hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in February.

Lucian was a member of a two-dozen strong delegation, which met with the Prime Minister to discuss a range of issues of concern from the Living Wage to resettlement of refugees.

Lucian said: “The real strength of Citizens UK’s work with faith communities is that the organisation engages not solely with the aim of interfaith dialogue, but to drive social action. Over time, diverse groups that might not otherwise ever encounter one another begin to identify shared values and beliefs. This in turn becomes a source of strength and a means of enhancing social cohesion.”

He also praised the Prime Minister’s work in setting up the Holocaust Commission to identify the best ways to commemorate and educate about the events of 70 years ago. In an exchange of letters after the meeting, Mr Cameron wrote: “I am pleased that, as a result of the Commission’s work, Britain will have a National Memorial, a world class learning centre and an endowment fund to secure Holocaust education forever.”

Social Action

May/June 2015

LJ Today Page 7

Breaking the cycle of poverty at home and abroad

By Rabbi Alexandra Wright HERE IS THE THING about child poverty: you can’t see it.

It’s hidden behind the pride of a parent who goes without a meal in order to feed their children; inside the mouth of a one year old whose teeth aren’t through yet because he’s not getting enough to eat and is on the lowest centile of growth for a child his age. It is out of sight within the four walls of a one-room hostel where two parents and four children live together with one space acting as kitchen, bedroom and living area, the bathroom down the corridor.

Perhaps it is hard to believe child poverty exists here in Britain.

But 3.5 million children are living in poverty today. More than one child in every four does not receive adequate nutrition; they may be homeless, living in inappropriate accommodation or in hostels.

These hidden children are growing up unable to be integrated into society because their parents or parent do not earn the living wage, wages are stagnating and the cost of living is too high. Child poverty is not inevitably the result of having parents who are out of work, dependent on drugs or alcohol or where family breakdown or poor parenting has occurred. In the UK, 66% of children growing up in poverty live in families where at least one parent works.

That is why, at the Houses of Parliament in January, 60 rabbis from all branches of Judaism launched Tzelem, a rabbinic call for social and economic justice to address some of the most critical social justice issues in the UK. Tzelem will ally itself with the Child Poverty Action Group to campaign for an end to child poverty. Freedom from poverty is a human right which we must all combat so that children can grow up in dignity.

Alexandra Wright is senior rabbi at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue (NPLS) hosted the ‘Ghana Through a Jewish Lens’ photo exhibition by Tzedek, the Jewish community’s response to extreme poverty overseas.

‘Ghana Through a Jewish Lens’ tells the story of life in Tamale, northern Ghana, through photos taken by a student intern last summer – two of which are reproduced here. The photos include school children striving for an education and elderly people battling for recognition, as well as showing the daily chores of rural women’s lives.

The photo exhibition reflects the impact of the British Jewish community’s investment in the people of northern Ghana. Alongside the exhibition, Tzedek’s education programme manager Adam Francies visited and taught at NPLS. This was all part of a wider partnership between Tzedek and the Jewish community.

Adam – a former LJY-Netzer movement worker and current member of NPLS – gave a D’var Torah on the importance of partnership in leadership.

He went on to run a family workshop, where parents and children as young as 11 years old learnt together about life in sub-Saharan Africa. During the workshop, discussions ranged from education to nutrition; from healthcare to mobile phones. One girl said “She’s so old! I didn’t know they lived so long,” referring to the photo of Abibata (above).

Adam told lj today: “Partnership is a value expressed by Tzedek’s work in Ghana. Maimonides taught that the highest form of charity is to take someone into partnership, give them a loan and a way to sustain themselves.

Funds raised for Tzedek go to breaking the cycle of poverty through investment in people, helping them help themselves through education, training and micro finance. The British Jewish community raised 1,500 people out of poverty last year, by investing in local projects.

“It has been such a positive step to find so many ways to engage with NPLS, and Tzedek is now looking to raise awareness and inspire involvement with other Liberal Jewish communities.”

• Tzedek can come to your community to run an educational workshop or photo exhibition. If this is something you would be interested in, call 020 3603 8120 or email education@tzedek.org.uk

Page 8 LJ Today

Obituary

May/June 2015

A tribute to Jeremy Two friends remember a well-respected man, who made a tremendous contribution to Liberal Judaism

By Rabbi Richard Jacobi

By Rosita Rosenberg

BY THE POET Philip Bailey’s reckoning of ‘deeds, not years’, Jeremy Jessel exceeded the idyllic Jewish life-span of meah v’esrim, 120 years in his chronological 69. He filled each hour with meaning, achievement and service.

Jeremy’s life of deeds began in January 1946, when he joined his older sister Leonie and completed the family of his parents Dr Ralph and Evelyn Jessel, living at that time in Ealing. Reviewing her diary from 1952, Leonie noted how often she – at 15 to Jeremy’s six – looked after him.

It was never a chore - he was funny, lively and enquiring.

Jeremy was my babysitter and my father Harry conducted his wedding to Sue in Brighton in 1971.

His family all report that Jeremy was a ‘hands-on’ dad to sons Tim and Dan. He did the night feeds, often to the accompaniment of Dr Hook’s Love You a Little Bit More, and never shied away from a dirty nappy.

When Jeremy was made redundant from his second major employer, he decided that a printing business was the way forward – and he and Sue formed JJ Copyprint. Three premise moves, three recessions and 34 years later, Jeremy was still meticulously proof-reading jobs from his hospital bed the day before he died. Their product reached the Falkland Islands during the 1982 war and has sat in royal hands, as well as yours and mine.

It says a lot about their union that Sue and Jeremy could live and work together for so many hours of the day and get stronger as a couple year by year.

Perhaps the secret of their success was the diversity of their interests, sometimes on their own, but often still in tandem.

Both Jeremy and Sue were committed to Southgate Progressive Synagogue.

Jeremy taught at religion school, oversaw the building of the current synagogue and served on the council for so many years that Sue had to get the constitution changed so that he would take a break.

Our opportunity, our ambitious challenge, is to continue where Jeremy left off, and so make the memory of this righteous man a blessing.

IF WE WERE to draw up a specification for the ideal volunteer or lay leader in Liberal Judaism, it would include the following adjectives: dedicated, knowledgeable, multi-talented, hardworking, modest, courteous, friendly, enthusiastic and inclusive. The bonus would be a wellhoned background in our movement. I think, indeed I know, that this is a perfect description of Jeremy Jessel.

Jeremy was brought up in a committed Liberal Jewish family. Indeed, his father Ralph was chairman of Liberal Judaism, then known as the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues (ULPS).

Having served his own congregation of Southgate Progressive Synagogue so well, including as chairman, Jeremy went on to become an officer of ULPS, including a term as vice chairman in the early 2000s. If you wanted something done well, without a fuss, you went to Jeremy. And he certainly always did it well, whether it was overseeing a project, serving on a committee, organising and advising on printing, giving advice or simply shlapping something at a Biennial Weekend.

Jeremy gave his opinions at meetings, after well-balanced thought, and always listened to and considered other people’s views. He never looked for thanks – I believe he felt his reward was the pleasure he got from the task.

We will all have our own memories of Jeremy – here is mine. It was 20 years ago, in April 1995 at the ULPS Biennial Conference in Bournemouth, and Jeremy was heading up the launch session for the prayer book Siddur Lev Chadash. There he was on the platform, a huge grin on his face, wearing a T-shirt advertising the Siddur and surrounded by most professional posters about it. He had obviously designed and printed the T-shirt and posters himself. I am not sure how much other work had been done that week at JJ Copyprint, but the pleasure that Jeremy took in working for the movement he loved was so very evident.

All of us who knew Jeremy will certainly never forget him.

Communities • IT IS one of the most hotly contested, and fun, events in the Liberal Judaism calendar and entries are now open for the 2015 Annual Inter-Synagogue Quiz. Communities, groups and individuals are all invited to take part at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS), St John’s Wood Road, London, on Sunday May 17.

Tea will be available on arrival from 3pm. The quiz will start at 3.30pm and is expected to finish around 6pm.

Each community can enter one team of no more than eight people.

Smaller groups can be put together.

For more information, and to confirm your attendance, please email Judith Diamond on ljs@ljs.org • THE MEMBERS of Manchester Liberal Jewish Community (MLJC) are set for a double celebration on Sunday May 31 - the congregation’s 10th anniversary AND the induction of Cantor Gershon Sllins. Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich will be in attendance, along with local dignitaries and representatives from other Liberal communities.

MLJC was started by a small group of people coming together – including James Eisen, Nick Davis and James Shirrer Bromfield – and developed into a community thanks to the tireless efforts of its first rabbi, Aaron Goldstein. The small congregation now enjoy regular monthly services, festivals and celebrations at the Unitarian Cross Street Chapel.

For more information, or to attend the anniversary service, please contact phyllis.alden@mac.com • YORK LIBERAL JEWISH COMMUNITY hosted a very special interfaith service last month, with 150 people packing out York’s Quaker House on a Friday night. A mix of members from local Anglican, Bahá’í, Catholic, Jewish, Methodist and Quaker communities all joined together to welcome Shabbat.

Explanatory commentary was provided by Rabbi Jackie Tabick, president of the World Congress of Faiths, with the service led by her husband Rabbi Larry Tabick, of Hampstead Reform Synagogue.

Those who attended the service commented on the warm sense of fellowship and a depth of tradition and spirituality that spoke to all.

News

May/June 2015

LJ Today Page 9

End of an era as three leave Liberal Judaism

SELINA O’DWYER worked for Liberal Judaism for 11 years, bringing her fabulous personality to our movement’s head office in several different roles.

Selina finished her career at Liberal Judaism as the person responsible for both our burials and our youth! She is now modelling for fashion magazines and auditioning for work in theatre.

CHRIS WALTERS served at Liberal Judaism for 13 years as caretaker and receptionist. He was often the first person people met when visiting our head office – becoming the face of Liberal Judaism for those both within and outside of our movement. He also made sure that everything in the building ran smoothly.

Chris has left to care for his mother.

ALEXANDRA BEN-YEHUDA managed Liberal Judaism’s PR and communications for almost 10 years. She significantly increased the coverage our movement receives in the local, national and Jewish press. Alex always ensured our unique voice was heard in debates about religion, equality and social justice.

She is now a freelance copywriter.

Honouring the memory of the victims Rabbi Pete Tobias on why a single day is not enough to remember the Holocaust THE ANNUAL observance of Yom Ha’Shoah, which this year fell on April 16, raises for me the perennial question of how we might best commemorate the victims of the Nazi atrocities.

Yom Ha’Shoah was introduced by the Israeli government in 1951 as an annual day of memorial for the suffering of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. Israel’s then leaders wanted the message of “never again” to be heard loud and clear from the fledgling state, so they chose the anniversary of the 1943 uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto – Nisan 27.

More recently introduced into our annual calendar is National Holocaust Memorial Day. The liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, seems perhaps a more solid basis for a Holocaust memorial. It was in the bleak, helpless misery of Auschwitz that the true horror of the Final Solution unfolded, rather than in the bleak but tragically heroic misery of the Warsaw Ghetto.

But this day detracts too from the task of recalling the victims.

DO YOU or members of your family live in Golders Green? Did you or they do so in the past? If so, Pam Fox would love to hear from you. Your experiences and knowledge would be a great help to her as she works on her new book, A Social History of Jews of Golders Green.

From the moment of the liberation of Auschwitz, the whole of humanity was forced to recognise the reality of its own potential for evil. It’s as much about the perpetrators as it is about the victims.

So neither day seems to offer an opportunity to recall the tragic plight of individual Jews whose lives were initially disrupted, then dismantled and finally destroyed, without their being able to rebel, protest or even understand what was happening.

There are other days in the Jewish calendar which also provide space for reflection upon the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, including the Holocaust. Tishah b’Av, for example, or the martyrology section of the Yom Kippur Musaf service.

But can such a tragedy be recalled in a single day’s observance, no matter which day is chosen?

Jewish tradition offers another period of sadness. The seven weeks of the Omer, between Pesach and Shavuot, recall a time of uncertainty when our agricultural Pam would also be interested in any relevant photographs and other archive material you might have.

Pam’s previous Jewish history books, A Place to Call My Jewish Home, the story of 100 years of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue published in 2011, and Israel

ancestors feared the east wind that might blight their crops. It also recalls a plague that claimed the lives of many of Rabbi Akiva’s students and remembers Jewish victims of the Crusades.

In my synagogue, at every service that takes place during this seven-week period, the day of the Omer is announced and followed by a memorial prayer and a period of silence, in which members of the congregation try to ponder the horrific suffering of ordinary Jews like themselves and then devote a Kaddish to those for whom, perhaps, no Kaddish has ever been said.

In the end, of course, it is impossible even to imagine the terror and the pain experienced by the victims of the Holocaust. But by spreading the attempt to remember across a seven-week period rather than trying to condense it into a single day, perhaps a greater level of dignity and memorial might be achieved.

Pete Tobias is rabbi at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree Isidor Mattuck: Architect of Liberal Judaism, published in 2014, have both been well received in Jewish circles.

Her forthcoming book should appeal to a much wider audience.

You can contact Pam by emailing her at pamfox@virginmedia.com

Page 10 LJ Today

Outreach

May/June 2015

Outreach Team Bulletin Board OUR TWO most recent Sunday Seminars, on the topics of Israel and dealing with grief, were well attended.

The Israel seminar, pictured below, was led by Liberal Judaism’s student and young adult chaplain Rabbi Leah Jordan, with sessions led by UJIA educator Robin Moss and Yachad youth and student outreach worker Rebecca Daniels. Material from Israel charities New Israel Fund and Just Vision were used in a though-provoking day.

Rabbi Sandra Kviat coordinated the Sunday Seminar on how we address and care for those in our communities

FOLLOWING the success of the recent Midlands Regional Shabbaton, we’ve headed straight in to the planning phase for our next localised event.

The South West Regional Shabbaton will take place on Saturday November 28 in Swindon, a location central to a number of our communities including Bristol & West, Reading, Gloucestershire, Wessex and Oxford.

These events are a wonderful chance for communities to meet, learn and network, as well as for members to come together in between our movement’s national conferences.

who are either bereaved or dying; it was an especially affecting and practical day of learning and discussion. With the guidance of Kim Leech, from Cruse Bereavement Care and Rabbi Alexandra Wright and Irene Bard, as well as others from The Liberal Jewish Synagogue’s Bereavement Support Team, we explored modern models of grief and the skills needs to communicate with bereaved people, as well as how to offer quiet, spiritual support and how practically to build teams to help bereaved members in the first year following a death.

CHEDER children around the country are in production mode, as they prepare their entries for this year’s Liberal Academy of Film and Torah Awards (LAFTAs). Each community is tasked with producing a three-minute film on a theme – this year it is ‘A Day in the Life of Israel’ – with the winner announced at the Day of Celebration on Sunday June 7. Two years ago we enjoyed robot rabbis, alien conversion and Jewtube sermons when the young people looked to the ‘Future of Liberal Judaism’. Only time can tell what they will have in store for us this year…

PROGRESSIVE JEWS have the chance to visit Israel for FREE as part of UJIA Birthright in partnership with Liberal Judaism and Reform Judaism.

The Birthright trip is open to any Progressive Jew aged 20-26, who has not already been on an organised educational visit to Israel. It will take place from August 15-25. The trip will include the chance to explore ancient sites and modern cities and encounter Israel’s diverse population. Email leah@liberaljudaism.org today for details on how to start a journey that you will never forget.

ALL OVER the country, Jewish children woke up in March to find a package on their doorstep containing a beautiful book from the PJ Library.

The award-winning books celebrate Jewish culture, values and traditions through a wide range of stories and beautiful illustrations. The Outreach Team is excited to support this project and ensure that our members enjoy the benefits. So if you have a child aged between six months and eight years old, sign them up at www.pjlibrary.org.uk to receive a free Jewish picture book every month.

Youth

May/June 2015

LJ Today Page 11

LJY-Netzer is Liberal Judaism’s Zionist youth movement. It gives young people the opportunity to develop a strong Progressive Jewish identity, make lasting friendships and have loads of fun

Putting a spring in our step

MACHANEH AVIV 5775 may now be over, but the memories of an amazing LJYNetzer spring camp will remain for a very long time to come.

The excitement levels were already high on arrival, as the members of LJYNetzer spent time catching up with old friends and getting to know new ones after a brilliant opening extravaganza.

This was followed up with interesting learning and fun games. Splitting into year groups, there was everything from discussions on Earth Hour and Liberal Jewish ideology to a battle against a zombie apocalypse.

The second day of Aviv was just as busy, with both whole camp and age group sessions. While our plagim (school years 5-6) were given 15 minutes to save the world, the nechalim (school years 7-8) got to make their own merchandise. The day ended with songs, a campfire and hot chocolate for all.

Day three included football, a reading group and a whole camp service, before age group sessions covering everything from feminist poetry to boycotts and ethical consumerism.

Day four saw everyone join together for an uprising including water balloons for those who were brave enough to confront their enemies, or rather their leaders.

The penultimate day started with an April Fools’ joke, with all the children told that it was LJY-Netzer’s birthday and a big party organised. The year groups again had their own activities. Ananim (school years 3-4) experienced what it is like to live on a kibbutz, while the yamim (school years 9-10) followed a morning swim with an educational session on Judaism and prayer. After a final dinner and a murder mystery, everyone enjoyed the traditional ‘Last Night Show’, featuring a talent show and dancing until dawn (well somewhere between 8-10pm).

Then it was time to wake up, enjoy an inspiring closing ceremony and board coaches back to our communities.

The good news is that LJY-Netzer’s Machaneh Kadimah summer camp is just around the corner. Our biggest event of the year, Kadimah brings together hundreds of young Liberal Jews between eight and 15 years old from around the UK for two weeks of magical, creative, fun and engaging activities.

This year Machaneh Kadimah will take place from August 11-24 at Sandroyd School near Sailsbury. Find out more and book your place at www.ljy-netzer.org

Contact the LJY-Netzer team: Tom Francies (tom@liberaljudaism.org), Tamara Silver (tamara@liberaljudaism.org) and Gabriel Webber (gabriel@liberaljudaism.org); office telephone 020 7631 0584

Page 12 LJ Today

May/June 2015

Liberal Judaism congregations Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue T: 0845 869 7105 E: bedsps@liberaljudaism.org W: bedfordshire-ps.org.uk

Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community T: 0131 777 8024 E: info@eljc.org W: eljc.org

Beit Klal Yisrael (Notting Hill) E: bkymailing@gmail.com W: bky.org.uk

Finchley Progressive Synagogue T: 020 8446 4063 E: fps@liberaljudaism.org W: fps.org

Bet Tikvah Synagogue (Barkingside) T: 020 8554 9682 E: bttkv@liberaljudaism.org W: bettikvah.blogspot.co.uk Birmingham Progressive Synagogue T: 0121 634 3888 E: bps@liberaljudaism.org W: bpsjudaism.com Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue T: 01273 737 223 E: info@bhps-online.org W: brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.uk Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation E: bwpjc@bwpjc.org W: bwpjc.org Crouch End Chavurah E: info@crouchendchavurah.co.uk W: crouchendchavurah.co.uk Crawley Jewish Community T: 01293 534 294 Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation E: djpc@liberaljudaism.org W: djpcireland.com

Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community T: 01242 609 311 E: shalom@gljc.org.uk W: gljc.org.uk Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue T: 020 8864 5323 E: hwps@liberaljudaism.org W: hwps.org Herefordshire Jewish Community T: 01594 530 721 E: hjc@liberaljudaism.org W: herefordshirejc.org Kehillah North London T: 020 7403 3779 E: knl@liberaljudaism.org W: nlpjc.org.uk Kent Liberal Jewish Community T: 07952 242432 E: kljc@liberaljudaism.org W: tinyurl.com/kentljc Kingston Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8398 7400 E: kls@liberaljudaism.org W: klsonline.org

Ealing Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8997 0528 E: els@liberaljudaism.org W: ealingliberalsynagogue.org.uk

Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation T: 0116 271 5584 E: lpjc@liberaljudaism.org W: lpjc.org.uk

Eastbourne Liberal Jewish Community T: 01323 725 650 E: eljc@liberaljudaism.org W: eljc.org.uk

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (St John’s Wood) T: 020 7286 5181 E: ljs@liberaljudaism.org W: ljs.org

The Montagu Centre 21 Maple Street London, W1T 4BE T: 020 7580 1663 E: montagu@liberaljudaism.org W: liberaljudaism.org

Liberal Judaism is the dynamic, cutting edge of modern Judaism. It reverences Jewish tradition, seeking to preserve the values of the past, while giving them contemporary force.

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The Liberal Synagogue Elstree T: 020 8953 8889 E: tlse@liberaljudaism.org W: tlse.org.uk Lincolnshire Jewish Community T: 01427 628 958 E: ljc@liberaljudaism.org W: lincolnshirejc.co.uk Manchester Liberal Jewish Community T: 0161 796 6210 E: mljc@liberaljudaism.org W: mljc.org.uk Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue T: 01923 822 592 E: npls@liberaljudaism.org W: npls.org.uk Norwich Liberal Jewish Community E: nljc@liberaljudaism.org W: norwichljc.org.uk Nottingham Liberal Synagogue T: 0115 962 4761 E: nls@liberaljudaism.org W: nottinghamliberalsynagogue.com

Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community T: 020 7631 9822 E: info@pljc.org.uk W: pljc.org.uk Reading Liberal Jewish Community T: 0118 942 8022 E: readingliberaljewishcommunity@ gmail.com W: www.readingljc.org.uk

Shenfield & Brentwood Synagogue T: 01277 888 610 E: tikvahchadasha@gmail.com W: roshtikvah.com South Bucks Jewish Community T: 0845 644 2370 E: sbjc@liberaljudaism.org W: sbjc.org.uk

South London Liberal Synagogue (Streatham) T: 020 8769 4787 E: slls@liberaljudaism.org W: southlondon.org Southgate Progressive Synagogue T: 020 8886 0977 E: sps@liberaljudaism.org W: sps.uk.com Stevenage Liberal Synagogue T: 01438 300 222 E: stevenageliberalsynagogue@gmail.com W: stevenageliberalsynagogue.org.uk Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community (Ipswich) T:01473 250 797 E: sjc@liberaljudaism.org Wessex Liberal Jewish Community (Bournemouth) T: 01202 757 590 E: info@wessexliberaljudaism.org.uk W: wessexliberaljudaism.org.uk West Central Liberal Synagogue (Central London) T: 020 7636 7627 E: wcls@liberaljudaism.org W: wcls.org.uk Woodford Liberal Synagogue T: 020 8989 7619 E: info@woodfordliberal.org.uk W: woodfordliberal.org.uk Developing communities and affiliated congregations Beit Ha’Chidush (Amsterdam) T: 00 31 23 524 7204 E: bhc.informatie@gmail.com W: beithachidush.nl Oxford Jewish Congregation T: 01865 515 584 E: progressive@ojc-online.org W: ojc-online.org York Liberal Jewish Community T: 07922 683 787 E: york@liberaljudaism.org W: jewsinyork.org.uk

President Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein Chairman Lucian J Hudson Deputy Chair Simon Benscher Vice Chair Jackie Richards Treasurer Rosie Ward Israel and the Diaspora Tamara Schmidt Communications Ed Herman Social Justice Amelia Viney Youth and Education Robin Moss National Officers Dr Howard Cohen, David Hockman, David Pelham and Ruth Seager Vice Presidents Monique Blake, Henry Cohn, Nigel Cole, Geoffrey Davis, Lord Fink, Jeromé Freedman, Louise Freedman, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, Sharon Goldstein, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Willie Kessler, David Lipman, Corinne Oppenheimer, David Pick, Rosita Rosenberg, Tony Sacker, Harold Sanderson, Joan Shopper, Beverley Taylor and Clive Winston Chair of Rabbinic Conference Rabbi Charley Baginsky Chief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich Outreach Director Rabbi Anna Gerrard Outreach Coordinator Abigail Jacobi Student & Young Adult Chaplain Rabbi Leah Jordan Education Rabbi Sandra Kviat Music Cantor Gershon Silins Interfaith Rabbi Mark Solomon Operations Director Shelley Shocolinsky-Dwyer Archivist Alison Turner Director of Youth Becca Fetterman LJY-Netzer Tom Francies, Tamara Silver and Gabriel Webber