March/April 2006
VOL. XXXIII No. 2
ljtoday
Michael Grade gives support and ‘heartfelt’ thanks at the annual Patrons dinner More than 90 guests at Liberal Judaism’s second annual dinner for its Patrons heard Michael Grade, chairman of the BBC, express his deep love for our movement. During the stunning evening at the House of Commons last month, Michael, who chaired the committee that initiated the concept of the Council of Patrons, demonstrated his talents as an entertainer with a speech displaying quick-fire wit. But he also surprised many present when, in an outpouring of emotion, he told his audience that he felt ‘from the heart’ so happy to have found Liberal Judaism, which was ‘such a comfortable place to be’. As a boy, he had been brought up by his orthodox, Yiddish-speaking grandmother. Though her efforts to get the young Michael to put on weight had led her to serve him bacon – carefully cooked in kosher margarine – she also instilled in him a sense of the importance of his Judaism, and passed on her Yiddish. I still speak a bit of Yiddish,’ Michael told his audience, adding: ‘Though there’s no one to speak to at the BBC in Yiddish.’ He raised more laughs when he recalled a series of holidays spent at the various kosher hotels in Bournemouth. ‘I learned there that if you miss a meal you die.’ But Michael said it was Rabbi John
Rayner who had nurtured and secured his Jewish identity. John, who died last September, and who conducted Michael’s marriage at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, was ‘a man for whom I have everlasting gratitude. He brought my whole family back into Judaism.’ Among those at the gathering who deserved thanks was Stanley Fink, chairman of the Council of Patrons, whom Michael praised for his ‘unstinting dedication’. Earlier, Brooks Newmark, the Conservative member for Braintree who hosted the dinner, held in the opulent Members’ Dining Room, welcomed those present. The American-born MP, who is a member of Westminster Synagogue, described the evening as a ’very important cause’. At the inaugural dinner the previous year, held at the House of Lords, the guest of honour, Lord Rothschild, had thanked the founding Patrons for their support. This year it was heartening to see an enlarged number of Patrons, as
From expulsion to emancipation Pages 4-5
Michael Grade, at the House of Commons dinner, spoke of his gratitude to the Liberal movement
more of our movement’s supporters come forward to offer financial backing to its expansion. In a short speech, Nigel Cole, chairman of Liberal Judaism, expressed his belief that our movement provides a ‘meaningful Jewish future for all who wish to preserve their Judaism’. Stanley Fink, chairman of investment group Man plc, thanked Brooks for hosting the • continues on page 6