Board of Deputies Community Briefing 13 February 2020

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COMMUNITY BRIEFING

Board of Deputies President urges Westminster
councillors to support National Holocaust
Memorial in Westminster

On the eve of a Westminster City Council debate on She added: “The impact of a permanent memorial
the future of a proposed National Holocaust on future generations is incalculable. An interactive
Memorial, to be sited near to Parliament, Board of learning centre as a part of the permanent fixture of
Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl the memorial will ensure that future generations are
wrote to councillors urging them to support the able to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and
project. ensure that ‘Never Again’ is not only a slogan, but
rather a call to action against any future abuses of
In the letter, Marie wrote: “A permanent human rights."
commemoration to the six million Jewish people
murdered in the Holocaust is an important and The meeting, on Tuesday evening, rejected the
timely project. At a time when the number of building plan. There will be a public inquiry later this

Holocaust survivors is dwindling by the year, and year followed by a decision on the project by the
when antisemitism is on the rise across Europe and Housing Minister.
in the UK, a permanent and visible memorial will
serve as a constant reminder of the danger of Read the JC report here and the Jewish News article
complacency to those we elect to represent us.” here.

Marie van der Zyl on UN blacklist: ‘Call out this measure
for the sham that it is’

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has condemned the United Nations for its "clear and
unacceptable prejudice" against Israel.

Marie said: “The UN OHCHR ‘blacklist’ of companies doing business in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
is the latest example of clear and unacceptable prejudice by the UN. At present, there are more than 100
territorial disputes around the world, including in Kashmir, Crimea, Tibet, Northern Cyprus and Western
Sahara, but once again the UN has chosen to take this measure only against Israel, the world’s only Jewish
state. The UK has rightly called time on this kind of bias at the UN before and we urge the Government to
call out this measure for the sham that it is and press the UN to attempt to rescue its increasingly shaky
credibility by retracting this ill-conceived measure.”

The Board of Deputies led a delegation to meet Universities Minister Chris Skidmore this week. Read a full
report here

Board of Deputies Vice-President Edwin Shuker (left) spoke at the launch of JTree – an Eco Synagogue tree-
planting project – at JW3 this week. Also pictured is Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg and other speakers at the
event

ACTIVITY REPORT

SOCIAL ACTION

The Board of Deputies is proud to have adopted Eco Synagogue as part of our commitment to the
environment. Chief Executive Gillian Merron gave the closing speech at the Eco Synagogue Awards
hosted by West London Synagogue. Interfaith and Social Action Officer Anthony Silkoff also attended.

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg and Interfaith and Social Action Officer Anthony Silkoff met Dr
Edie Friedman from JCORE and Professor Tony Kushner to discuss how the Jewish community can support
efforts to commemorate the transatlantic slave trade.

Interfaith and Social Action Officer Anthony Silkoff attended the Mitzvah Day awards at JW3, to
celebrate the social action achievements of Jewish communities across the world, from the UK to Australia.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg and Public Affairs Officer Daniel Sugarman met the public policy
team at Facebook to talk about tackling antisemitism online and empowering the community to tackle
bigotry.

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg met ministerial advisers at the Department for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport to discuss the Government’s work around online harms.

INTERFAITH

Interfaith and Social Action Officer Anthony Silkoff attended the Faith Communities Forum of the Inter
Faith Network, alongside other national faith bodies, and updated the forum on the Board of Deputies’
recent engagement with Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh communities.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg and Education Policy and Youth Engagement Officer Jake
Berger met Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson to talk about shared aspirations around
international freedom of religion and belief, as well as differences over faith schools.

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg chaired a meeting of the Camden Faith Leaders Forum, which
among other things heard a presentation from the CST and discussed the recent graffiti incidents around
South Hampstead and Belsize Square synagogues.

H E R I TA G E

Archives and Heritage Manager Dawn Waterman met Professor Alex Samely and Dr Stefania Silvestri of
the 50 Jewish Objects project this week. The project focuses on artefacts held at the John Rylands Library
in Manchester and other institutions in the north of England and the meeting was to discuss their
participation in the Board of Deputies’ initiative Hidden Treasures: celebrating British Jewish archives.

POLITICAL

Public Affairs Officer Daniel Sugarman and Government Affairs Officer Daniel Elton met a
representative of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media to discuss issues surrounding
the portrayal of Judaism and its tenets, on TV and in print.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

Vice President Edwin Shuker made the keynote address at the Lewisham Holocaust Memorial Day
ceremony at the Broadway Theatre, Catford. The event also featured drama, poetry and music
performances by Lewisham primary and secondary school pupils and speeches from faith and community
leaders including Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham and Reverend David Rome, Minister of Catford and
Bromley Synagogue

COMMUNITY

Public Affairs Director Phil Rosenberg was part of a panel discussion of Labour’s antisemitism problem at
Edgware United Synagogue.

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

International Relations Officer Talia Ingleby spoke to Cristina Jones from the Israeli Embassy to discuss
cooperation and collaboration in grassroots Israel advocacy.

International Relations Officer Talia Ingleby spoke to Raz Frogel from Fair Trade Haifa to discuss the
importance of free trade in Jewish tradition and opportunities for collaboration between Jewish
communities in Israel and the UK.

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