02 June 2020 Rabbi Rebecca Birk of Finchley Progressive Synagogue joined with other faith leaders last month for a special celebration towards the end of Ramadan to help those in need. Rebecca teamed up with Mother Carol Barrett Ford and Imam Muhammed Bodrul Haque for the ‘Iftar For All’ at … Read More
Join Rabbi Charley Baginsky for faith and COVID-19 webinar
17 May 2020 Liberal Judaism’s Rabbi Charley Baginsky will take part in a webinar entitled Dialogue & Debate: Faith Responses to COVID-19, hosted by Cumberland Lodge at 11am on Wednesday 20 May. Cumberland Lodge is educational charity founded in 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, that empowers people, … Read More
Every Mitzvah Matters as Liberal Jews cook with Maureen Lipman
13 May 2020 Liberal Jews from all over the UK joined with people of all faiths and backgrounds to take part in a special Mitzvah Day cook-along with TV icon Maureen Lipman. Four hundred participated in the event, via Zoom and Facebook Live, which was part of the new Every … Read More
Liberal communities celebrate International Women’s Day
9 March 2020 Liberal Judaism communities put on special events and services this weekend to mark International Women’s Day. At East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue (ELELS), members of the Rosh Chodesh Group – a female group that meets at the beginning of each new month – led a Shabbat … Read More
[Blog] Inside the Leo Baeck Education Centre
Suzy Gold 27 February 2020 Recently I was fortunate enough to visit Leo Baeck Education Centre (LBEC) in Haifa. Having spent time acquainting myself with the website, I felt prepared and knew what to expect. Reading about an unparalleled, forward-thinking establishment in northern Israel sounded little less than a utopian … Read More
More children than ever attend Kingston HMD workshops
27 January 2020 More than 1,400 schoolchildren from Kingston-upon-Thames and Surrey have been attending workshops commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day throughout this month. The annual project, now in its 14th year, is run jointly by Kingston, Surbiton and District Synagogue (KSDS – part of the United Synagogue) and Kingston Liberal Synagogue … Read More
Faiths unite for Liberal Jewish Synagogue lighting
27 December 2019 The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) held a multi-faith Chanukah lighting as part of the community’s ‘Festivals For All’ programme. Individuals and groups representing different local faith communities, schools, charities and organisations attended – all lighting one of eight candles. The keynote speaker was Imam Asif Hafiz OBE, … Read More
Comment: We must be allies in fight against Islamophobia
By Rabbi Charley Baginsky The Board of Deputies and many other communal organisations have already condemned the truly appalling article that appeared in the Jewish Chronicle this week by Melanie Phillips. Liberal Judaism adds its voice clearly and strongly to the disgust felt in the Jewish community at this attack … Read More
Interfaith hopes and challenges discussed in Kingston
8 December 2019 Award winning speakers Imam Mamadou Bocoum and Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg discussed Jewish/Muslim relations at an Interfaith event co-hosted by Kingston Liberal Synagogue (KLS) and Muslims Against Antisemitism (MAAS). The pair – who won the 2017 ‘No2H8 Crime’ awards for intercultural dialogue for their work speaking to audiences … Read More
Mitzvah Day brings faiths (and even rabbis) together
19 November 2019 Liberal Judaism’s senior rabbi, Rabbi Danny Rich, was part of a unique and moving Mitzvah Day event that saw all sections of the Jewish community in Finchley unite with their Muslim neighbours. Danny teamed up with Finchley Progressive Synagogue’s Rabbi Rebecca Birk – as well as Rabbi … Read More