Board Accused Of 'Deficiency'

Chloe Markowicz - Friday 29th January 2010


Gordon Brown at the Board's Annual Dinner

The Board of Deputies has been forced to defend itself against accusations that it is becoming increasingly unrepresentative of Britain's Jewish community.

In a stinging attack on the future role of Anglo-Jewry's national representative body in a special Jewish News debate in this week's newspaper, Brian Gordon, a Barnet councillor and former long-standing member of the Board, warns that the organisation's influence is steadily waning.

Top stories

email this page to a friend print this page email the editor buy this content Bookmark and Share
Gordon claims that the Board is becoming "deficient" as it does not officially include the Charedi or ultra-Orthodox community, which split from the organisation in 1971, and is the only growing sector in Anglo-Jewry. He said: "If things continue as they are, Charedim could constitute the majority of Anglo-Jewry. Any umbrella organisation not representing them is therefore severely deficient."

The Board, which prides itself on being the "chief voice of British Jewry", responded by saying that even with its high birth rates, the Charedi community represents less than 15 percent of Anglo-Jewry and that other parts of the community still remain "vibrant". Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board, said: "We serve all British Jews, have as much regard for the interests and concerns of the Charedim as we do for other parts of the community, and we consult with them all, whether they like to admit it publicly or not."
Benjamin added that it is, in fact, the factions of the community that face a greater threat of assimilation and that they "need and deserve professional and effective representation to ensure that living a Jewish life in Britain in 2010 and beyond remains the preferred choice".

Chanoch Kesselman, executive coordinator of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom & Commonwealth, said the Board was unable to represent the best interests of both the Charedi and non-Orthodox groups simultaneously. He said: "The Charedim have become much more sophisticated in their approach to the problems that concern them and they are more than able to make representations to government on their own behalf."
Like Gordon, Rabbi Abraham Pinter, principal of Yesodey Hatorah senior girls' school in Stamford Hill, accepted that the Board had many uses, but expressed concern about its links with Progressive movements.

He said: "If the Board succumbs to pressure from the non-Orthodox community it will result in it becoming an irrelevance." He added that the Charedi community was well placed to become a much more significant force in British Jewry in the years to come.

Yitzchok Silkin, of Agudas Israel, also voiced apprehension at the Board's non-Orthodox members. He said: "Despite the fact that there is a majority of Orthodox members it appears that they don't have a controlling voice."
He added: "The dividing line is not between Charedi and Orthodox but between Orthodox and non-Orthodox."

And non-Charedim, such as John Adler, a former head of the Bristol Hebrew Congregation, agreed that the division between the Orthodox and Progressive movements was the biggest problem now facing the Board. Adler said: "The Board is representing many people who, on the religious front, do not see eye to eye."
However, he suggested that each faction of the community should consider their common interests and act accordingly. "If we didn't have the Board we would be in a worse position as a community," he said.

Rabbi Tony Bayfield, leader of the Movement for Reform Judaism, rejected doubts over the Board's future relevance, speaking in glowing terms about its actions.
He said: "The Board is absolutely essential and all praise goes to it for its leadership of the community, particularly in recent months during the difficulties over the JFS Supreme Court case."

He added: "It would be very desirable for Charedim to join the rest of the community by being represented by the Board, but it is wrong to suggest the Board is failing or at fault because a small minority refuses to be represented by it."

Read the latest copy of The Jewish News Online by clicking here.

Bookmark and Share