New Charedi PR initiative launched in memory of Rabbi Avrohom Pinter

A new organisation to improve public relations for the Charedi community in the UK has been launched on Monday in memory of Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, who for many years acted as the unofficial ambassador for Stamford Hill to the wider world.

The Pinter Trust mission is to build “awareness, dialogue and trust”, field enquiries from the media and to “tell the story of Charedi people in the words of the community itself”.

Its chairman is Rabbi Avrohom Sugarman, the founder of the Haskel special educational school in Gateshead, who received an MBE for his educational activism last year.

The director of public affairs is Joel Friedman, head of policy at the Interlink Foundation, the advisory service for Charedi charities and a founder of the Canvey Island Jewish community.

Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Tessler is the trust’s communications officer.

Rabbi Sugarman said the trust would become “the first port of call for anyone looking to find out more about the community. We will endeavour to respond to requests as best we can and create a meaningful dialogue with those outside the community.

“We will seek to raise awareness about the community and participate in discussions on relevant matters.”

The initiative had the support of the Union Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, the largest religious umbrella body for Strictly Orthodox London, the Federation of Synagogues, the Gateshead community, Manchester’s Machzikei Hadass community and the Manchester Beth Din, he said.

Rabbi Pinter, whose death from coronavirus in the early wave of the pandemic in April 2020 was mourned across the Jewish community and beyond, was the go-to representative for stories about the Charedi community.

He “built many bridges between the Charedi community and other organisations and groups,” Rabbi Sugarman said.