V The new chair of Liberal Judaism paid tribute to LGBT rabbis this week as she became the first such leader elected to chair the Jewish movement.

Karen Newman was voted in unanimously at the organisation’s  AGM. She has been acting chair since October 2023.

Newman told the JC: “I feel proud and humbled as I take on this role at this time. Proud because Liberal Judaism felt like coming home when I joined a Liberal community in 2003, and it has a proud history of welcoming and celebrating diversity, and humbled because I was not born into the Liberal tradition, and so have much to learn.”

She added: “Visibility is important, and as an out lesbian, I know I stand on the shoulders of a number of LGBTQ+ rabbis who have fought our way here dearly.”

Newman, who is a member of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) in St John’s Wood, joined Liberal Judaism’s board of national officers in 2017.

She served as deputy chair from 2019 to 2023 and co-convenes the Progressive deputies group on the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

She also serves on the board of governors of Leo Baeck College.

She said that she was looking forward “to an exciting period ahead as, together with the Movement for Reform Judaism, we build one single flourishing Progressive Judaism for the UK”.

Paying tribute to the “extraordinary partnership established by Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy”, who co-lead Progressive Judaism, she said that “the challenge is to move at a pace which recognises the enthusiasm for this project, while ensuring that we take people with us, so that our members feel truly involved in creating a Progressive Judaism movement that is fit for our turbulent times”.

A spokesperson for Liberal Judaism said: “[Karen] becomes the first member of the LGBTQI+ community to hold the position of chair within Liberal Judaism or, we believe, any British synagogal movement.”

“Karen is an international advocacy, policy, gender, evaluation, governance and development professional with more than 30 years’ experience managing health and human rights projects and programmes across the globe.”

Alex Kinchin-Smith was elected as deputy chair of Liberal Judaism, with Amanda McFeeters, Penny Beral and Tommer Spence re-elected as officers.