Laura Janner Klausner

Laura Janner-Klausner is the senior rabbi to Reform Judaism

Latest from Laura Janner Klausner

Pharaoh was vanquished – and Putin will be too

Pesach’s message applies as much now as ever before: brutality and aggression will not prevail

By Laura Janner Klausner

3 min read

Vintage Biblical illustration features Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh after the Tenth Plague, Death of the Firstborn. Babies lay dead on the steps with their mothers distraught as Pharaoh finally grants permission to the Israelites to leave Egypt.

A Purim nightmare unfolds in my beloved Odessa

2 min read

The Beijing Paralympics were a diversionary farce from a totalitarian regime

3 min read

Jewish history tells us that bullies falsify and distort - Putin is just the latest

2 min read

More from Laura Janner Klausner

The British Jewish community stands with Israel and stands up for social justice

I'm proud that our institutions and leaders were unambiguous that Bezalel Smotrich was not welcome here

2 min read

February 16, 2022 17:41

Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party (Tkuma), speaks during a plenum session on the state budget on September 2, 2021. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

It is grotesque to assert that the Texas synagogue siege was not motivated by antisemitism

We cannot allow Jewish suffering to be erased, says the former Reform senior rabbi

3 min read

January 17, 2022 11:14

COLLEYVILLE, TEXAS - JANUARY 15: FBI Special Agent In Charge Matthew DeSarno speaks at a news conference near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on January 15, 2022 in Colleyville, Texas. All four people who were held hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue have been safely released after more than 10 hours of being held captive by a gunman. Earlier this morning, police responded to a hostage situation after reports of a man with a gun was holding people captive. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Our flags should not be used to threaten others

We believe in robust, difficult and uncomfortable conversations, write Rabbi Laura Janner Klausner and Imam Qari Asim

2 min read

May 27, 2021 14:42

Our flags should not be used to threaten others

Why I’m starting a firm to combat cancel culture

'This is precisely the time to expand and to strengthen others, particularly leaders under extreme pressure'

3 min read

October 29, 2020 09:59

Why I’m starting a firm to combat cancel culture

Annexation would be a calamitous step for Israel

The move would kill the two-state solution, put Israel’s majority under threat and be intolerable for the Palestinians

2 min read

May 15, 2020 15:54

Annexation would be a calamitous step for Israel

How my trauma made me stronger

Reform's Senior Rabbi Laura Janner Klausner’s new book draws on her own life to help others build resilience. In this exclusive extract she reflects on anger, bereavement and the trauma when her father was accused of child abuse

5 min read

May 6, 2020 09:42

We have all become distracted from the goal of peace

We British Jews should not just let an inconclusive result stand; we must refocus Israel's attention on peace

2 min read

September 18, 2019 19:45

We have all become distracted from the goal of peace

The Genesis Prize can help us reclaim the word 'philanthropy'

Huge new pledges at Thursday's ceremony means there is now a $31 million fund to tackle online antisemitism - this was not mere 'fundraising'

2 min read

June 21, 2019 12:35

The Genesis Prize can help us reclaim the word 'philanthropy'

No, Pete Willsman, our letter about Labour antisemitism was not from the 'Israeli embassy'

Labour's Pete Willsman said that last year's open letter from 68 rabbis about Jew-hate came from the 'Israeli embassy'. Signatory Rabbi Laura Janner Klausner sets out how it actually came about

1 min read

May 31, 2019 14:39