The Board of Deputies is urging support for new projects to increase awareness of cultural diversity in the UK Jewish community.
It has published a fresh set of proposals this week in a follow-up to its groundbreaking report on racial inclusivity that came out in 2021.
The original report, authored by journalist Stephen Bush, published 119 recommendations on improving the recognition of diversity, taking into account the experiences of Black Jews, Jews of Colour, Mizrachi, Yemenite and Sephardi Jews.
In the follow-up review, Edwin Shuker, who has just stepped down as Board vice-president, called on philanthropists and organisations to get behind the new proposals which, he said, could “contribute to the transformation of inclusive, holistic Jewish education in this country”.
Mr Shuker, who came to Britain as a teenage refugee from Iraq, said, “A better appreciation of our diversity, from a young age, will further strengthen our thriving community, and safeguard its unity.”
The Board’s new digital educational resource, Jewish Living Online, which is due to be launched in autumn, includes information on the exodus of Jews from Arab countries and the Ethiopian Jewish festival Sigd.
But the resource could be adapted and expanded to incorporate more about different Jewish cultures, the report says.
Sephardi Voices UK is looking to recruit a full-time education officer to deliver projects including workshops for teachers and the production of books and short films.
Chazak is also looking for sponsorship for a Sephardi/Mizrachi educator to enhance its work in schools as well as for arranging heritage trips to Spain and Morocco and for a “Sephardi Party” for young professionals.
The Habura, a study group launched in the UK but with international participation, wants to develop resources to promote the Sephardi approach to Jewish law and thought.
PaJeS has proposed a workshop for Jewish studies teachers to advance understanding of diversity within Judaism.
In a survey of deputies, the Board said that 78 per cent reported their community or organisatipn being open to taking up recommendations from the original Bush report - but only 44 per cent had actually taken concrete action subsequently.
Fifty-five per cent identified Jews of Colour as members of their synagogue or organisation.
When asked about why their organisation might not have taken any action since the report, the Board said “it is positive to note that many communities feel that they were already inclusive spaces”. But it added: “However, it is unclear to what extent… respondents can be confident that all their congregants feel the same way.
Among groups that had acted, the Board cited events held by JW3 to mark Black History Month and its establishment of a Jews of Colour “microcommunity” which meets regularly; and initiatives taken by Liberal Judaism that included the first Black-led Kabbalat Shabbat in the UK hosted by one community.
