Post-October 7 challenges on the agenda in Board’s three-year proposals

The Board of Deputies has introduced a three-year plan which will make fighting antisemitism among its topmost priorities as the rate of antisemitic abuse in the UK has risen in the wake of the October 7 atrocities.

In August, CST reported that incidents of anti-semitism had reached an all time high, with 1,978 reported between January and June 2024, a surge from 964 during the same period in 2023.

The five-pronged plan, released on Thursday, places particular emphasis on the post-October 7 conditions for Jews in the UK, and outlines the Board’s priorities in light of the Jewish community’s recent challenges: fighting antisemitism; standing up for peace and security in Israel and the Middle East; defending religious freedoms; making the community more united and inclusive and celebrating our faith and heritage as British Jews.

Board President Phil Rosenberg, who was elected in May along with five other honorary officers, said the five main priorities outlined in the plan were determined to be “points of consensus that the whole community can get around”.

Board President Phil Rosenberg (centre, pictured with other honorary officers) has just announced the Board's priorities for the next three years (Photo: the Board of Deputies)[Missing Credit]

He added that the Board has “around 300 deputies, representing around 200 synagogues and Jewish institutions around the UK, from Cornwall to Aberdeen”, and one of the goals outlined in the plan is to better utilise this network to enhance the organisation’s reach.

One of the ways the Board intends to meet this goal is by implementing a programme of deputy briefings, featuring training on advocacy and current issues facing the Jewish community.

The plan also announced the Board’s intention to launch a “Commission on Antisemitism” to ensure focus remains on the issue, as well as to review legislation on hate crime policing and prosecution.

Rosenberg, who is the youngest Board of Deputies president at 38, has been eager to implement the ideas he brought to his election campaign, many of which are reflected in the 2024 to 2027 plan. He noted that the plan’s fifth priority – celebrating British Jewish culture – is particularly important during a time that has presented "serious challenges to Jewish unity” and said he was hoping to launch a month dedicated to British Jewish culture.

“There are a range of different kinds of things the community divides over, most notably and currently the politics of Israel, culture wars, denominational issues”, Rosenberg said. “Board of Deputies is a safe harbour for all different views in the community – we want to celebrate diversity in debate, kind of like a thinktank or a focus group for the British Jewish community.”

He added: “If we are proud of who we are. If we can build a Jewish British culture month, that will inform Jewish pride, but it will also tackle antisemitism and the ignorance that leads to it.”

“We have resilience in our DNA, and we will come back stronger. We must do that by remembering we have so many blessings as a community,” Rosenberg said.

The draft plan is subject to the input of Deputies in writing, an open forum at Sunday’s plenary (for those not standing for election), and a further online open forum evening to which all Deputies will be invited to contribute.