Board of Deputies Community Briefing 12th November 2020

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COMMUNITY BRIEFING

Board of Deputies President ‘distraught’ at
news of death of Rabbi Lord Sacks

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl reacted last weekend to the
sad news of the death of Rabbi Lord Sacks.

Marie said: “We are distraught at the news of the passing of Rabbi Lord
Sacks zt”l. Rabbi Sacks was a giant of both the Jewish community and
wider society. His astounding intellect and courageous moral voice were a
blessing to all who encountered him in person, in writing or in broadcast. His
outstanding tenure as Chief Rabbi led to a revolution in Jewish life and
learning which has ensured his legacy will pass not just through his own
beloved family, but through generations of our community’s young people
too. Our hearts go out to his wife Elaine, his children Joshua, Dina and Gila,
his brothers and the whole family.
"He will be much missed by us all.”
Listen to Marie van der Zyl pay tribute to Lord Sacks on Radio 4's Sunday
programme here at 32 minutes

Congratulations for Joe Biden on his election victory

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has reacted to the victory of Joe Biden in the US Presidential
Election.
Marie said: "I would like to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory. After a divisive and tumultuous few years
in American and global politics, we hope that he will lead global efforts to tackle Coronavirus, strengthen
ties with allies like the UK and heal the wounds between different groups in American society. We also hope
that he will continue in the strong tradition of bipartisan support for the world’s only Jewish state, the State
of Israel, and reverse the rise of antisemitism and racism in America and beyond."
Read the Jewish News report here and the JC report here.

Threat to circumcision in Finland averted following talks

A threat to ban circumcision in Finland has been averted for now following intervention from Milah UK, the
Board of Deputies and the Finnish Jewish community.

The Finnish Jewish community were concerned when a proposal was tabled in a key parliamentary
committee which could have led to brit milah being criminalised.

The community approached Milah UK – the UK Jewish community’s organisation for advocating for the
legal retention of Milah – for support. Milah UK and the Board of Deputies arranged talks at the highest
levels of government in Finland through the Finnish Ambassador in London, Marku Keinanan.

Following this intervention the parliamentary committee jettisoned the proposal. Talks will now take place
between the community and government in Finland aimed at recognising the status of Milah.

Jonathan Arkush, Co-chair of Milah UK , said: “Larger Jewish communities have a responsibility to smaller
ones to help them in a time of need. But more than that, we know that if a self-described liberal democracy
like Finland bans Milah, the threat to us here in the UK becomes greater. We want to thank the Finnish
Jewish community, his excellency the ambassador, and all those who worked to ensure a common sense
way forward on this core religious freedom.”

Yaron Nadbornik, President of the Central Council of Finnish Jewish Communities, said: “We thank Milah
UK and the Board of Deputies for their support during this anxious episode for the Finnish Jewish
community. The support of international partners has helped ensure a way forward for us to work towards
securing our religious freedom for now.”

There continues to be a small campaign in Finland to ban Milah and Milah UK and the Board of Deputies
will be in contact with the Finnish Jewish community to ensure all appropriate support is available.

Read the report in Hamodia here and in the Algemeiner here.

Next week, on 19 November we commemorate 260 years since the first meeting of the organisation which
would become the Board of Deputies Above is a page from our first minute book, It was specially retrieved
from the LMA’s strong-room where it is kept safe. The Minute Book covers Board of Deputies meetings from
November 1760 to April 1828 and is written in Portuguese. Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl this
week wrote an article about the foundation and history of the Board of Deputies in the JC. You can read it here

ACTIVITY REPORT

INTERFAITH

Join the Board of Deputies tonight at 6pm for an Interfaith Week discussion on how people of faith can
navigate questions of race and identity in Britain in 2020. Watch LIVE on our website or on our Facebook
and YouTube pages, no need to register. Post your questions for the panel in comments. With: Rev Celia
Apeagyei-Collins - Christian Pastor and Founder of Rehoboth Foundation; Cllr Awale Olad - Camden
Councillor and Somali Muslim; Jodeci Joseph - Black-Jewish Motivational Speaker. Chaired by Stephen
Bush - Chair of the Commission on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community and Political Editor of the
New Statesman

Chief Executive Gillian Merron hosted the first of two Board of Deputies events for Interfaith Week,
entitled “Realising Religious Freedom around the Globe”, which discussed the persecution faced by
Bahá'ís, Christians, Jews and Muslims globally. The panellists were: Kiri Kankhwende - Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, Padideh Sabeti - Office of Public Affairs of the UK Bahá'í Community, Board of Deputies Vice
President Edwin Shuker, Nury Turkel - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Watch it

again on YouTube or Facebook.

Vice President Edwin Shuker presented at an Interfaith Week learning seminar with Barnardo’s, entitled
‘Faith in a Pandemic’.

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

International Relations Officer Talia Ingleby, Government, Regional and Religious Affairs Officer
Daniel Elton and Co-Chairs of Milah UK, Jonathan Arkush and Professor David Katz spoke online with
Markku Keinänen, the Ambassador of Finland, to make an urgent appeal on behalf of the Finnish Jewish
community to stop brit milah being criminalised. See article above.

I​nternational Relations Officer Talia Ingleby and Community Engagement Officer Lauren Keiles held
an online meeting with President Michael Blake and Mariano Schlimovich from the European Council of
Jewish Communities to discuss future collaborative work and their upcoming online conferences.

POLITICAL

Senior Vice President Sheila Gewolb and Vice President Amanda Bowman met Plaid Cymru MP Liz
Saville Roberts, along with Chair of the South Wales Jewish Representative Council Laurence Kahn,
Government, Regional and Religious Affairs Officer Daniel Elton and Interfaith and Social Action
Manager Anthony Silkoff to discuss the party’s upcoming Antisemitism Review. You can read a report of
the meeting here.

Public Affairs Officer Daniel Sugarman, along with London Jewish Forum Director Daniel Kosky, met
Stephen Hammond MP to discuss topics of interest to the Jewish community.

MEDICAL

Vice President Amanda Bowman met Minister for Patient Safety Nadine Dorries MP, along with Medical
Adviser to the Board of Deputies Professor David Katz; Hospital Chaplain Rabbi Stanley Coten; Sidney
Sinitsky of the Adath Yisroel Burial Society; and Government, Regional and Religious Affairs Officer
Daniel Elton, to discuss medical examiners and hospital chaplaincy.

RACIAL EQUALITY

Stephen Bush, Chair of the Board of Deputies’ Commission on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community,
hosted a roundtable discussion with headteachers and other educational leaders, in partnership with
PaJeS. The meeting was part of the Commission’s series of stakeholder engagement meetings, and the
discussion centred around proposals for making Jewish schools more inclusive for all.

COMMUNITY

Chief Executive Gillian Merron met Jewish Leadership Joint Interim Chief Executives Claudia Mendoza
and Michelle Janes to discuss matter of interest to the two organisations.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Public Affairs Officer Daniel Sugarman met representatives of Facebook’s Public Policy Team to discuss
further work going forward in the wake of the social media company’s decision to ban Holocaust denial.

Public Affairs Officer Daniel Sugarman met a representative of TikTok’s Public Policy team to discuss
recent changes to the platform’s policies on antisemitism and further ways to potentially improve the
platform’s safety for Jewish users.

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