I tried to alert West London Synagogue about rabbi but got nowhere, says former leader

The former WLS lay leader, who no longer lives in the UK, said they were “shocked and deeply disappointed” to learn about Rabbi Mitchell’s promotion.

They claimed to have witnessed “harassment, manipulation and verbal abuse” by the rabbi as “described in numerous complaints” in the JC’s reports.

“I’d had earnest young staffers come to me in tears, describing [Rabbi Mitchell’s] mercurial temperament, frequent tirades and finely tuned personal attacks. Most left as soon as they could secure a job elsewhere,” the former staffer said.

They also accused WLS of choosing to “protect Mitchell at the expense of earnest, talented and committed young programme coordinators and office assistants as well as promising young rabbis and religious school personnel.”

In a message to members and staff sent in January, WLS said Rabbi Mitchell, who was appointed to take up the position in March alongside Rabbi Helen Freeman, “has been asked, and has agreed, to take a period of time away”.

The shul also said that its Board of Trustees had decided to bring in “independent advisers — a fresh pair of eyes — to spend some time working through the wide range of recent discussions, and meeting those affected”.

The former senior leader, who held their position between 2011 and 2013, said parents raised concerns about Rabbi Mitchell’s behaviour and several left the shul in “dismay and disgust”. There is no suggestion of physical abuse.

“I have warned friends against joining the synagogue as long as it harbours an individual who has neither the character nor the compassion to provide the leadership, counsel and inspiration a congregation expects from its clergy,” they said.

They said it was “deplorable that a reckoning has been so long delayed and at the expense of so many. I will say that the character of a community can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable".

"To allow someone to exploit his authority, subjecting those dependent on him for work, guidance and instruction to harassment, belittlement and abuse — and to waive all concern about such conduct and reward him with perhaps the most coveted position in Reform Jewry in the UK, is to fail that test of character and ought to alienate every WLS member who cares about the wellbeing of all of the rest," they said.

“If exposure of Mitchell’s behaviour forces my erstwhile congregation to examine its values and work to align them with the scripture that unites us as Jews — scripture that has at its heart treating others as we would want to be treated in turn — the community will benefit.”

Rabbi Mitchell has denied that he ever acted inappropriately and has told the JC that “since these issues were first raised I have learned, with coaching and mentoring, to become a better manager of people and I am still learning”.

Earlier this month, more than 100 members and rabbis of progressive Judaism signed an open letter calling on Reform Judaism to draw up an independent code of ethics and a committee that would hold “rabbis and cantors (clergy) to account”.

The letter, which was signed by former and current members of WLS but did not mention Rabbi Mitchell, said that a code of ethics was needed to “lay out expected standards of behaviour and establishes a process for fair adjudication when those standards are not met”.

Reform Judaism responded by pledging to set up a “robust and transparent” code of conduct.

“Serious matters have been raised in the Jewish and national media regarding safeguarding and employment practices at West London Synagogue.”

The former lay leader welcomed the movement’s pledge.

They said: “The initiative, that Mitchell’s case has inspired, to draft ethical standards for the rabbinate could go some way toward redeeming an otherwise irredeemable dereliction of moral, custodial and clerical duty.”

This week the synagogue wrote to members to say it was preparing “a comprehensive” response to the Charity Commission which has requested information on the shul’s governance and safeguarding processes.

In a letter sent to members on February 12, the shul said: “We are preparing a comprehensive response on these matters which will be shared with the Charity Commission in due course.”

Announcing it was suspending its Reform membership on Thursday, the shul said this would ensure it could deal with the matter "independent of conversations happening in the community".

It criticised Reform for issuing a statement announcing a new code of conduct for clergy, saying this "was unconnected and unhelpful to our particular situation".