Marie van der Zyl speaks of 'record of accomplishments' as leadership challenge confirmed

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl says she will stand for re-election on her “record of service and accomplishments”.

The JC revealed earlier today that she is facing a challenge for the presidency from Jonathan Neumann, who has represented Shomrei Hadath Synagogue for the past seven years on the Board.

Following the unexpected announcement, the current Board president said: “I will be standing for re-election on my record of service and accomplishments over the last six years as Vice President of Defence and President during one of the most tumultuous periods of history for Anglo Jewry – including both Jeremy Corbyn and the pandemic.

“Any deputy is of course free to stand against me and his underlines the truly democratic nature of the Board.”

Mr Neumann, a charity lawyer, is a member of the Board’s Constitutional Committee, which is currently refusing to sit as a result of an on-going row over legal immunity.

He said that by prompting an election he is “forcing accountability by giving deputies a real electoral choice”, describing his “transformative candidacy — leading to a transformative presidency.”

In his initial statement he attacked the way “the Board has acted as a blockage rather than an encouragement to Deputies’ talent and willingness to apply their skills and experience for the good of Anglo-Jewry.”

Mr Neumann is the author of ‘To Heal The World? How the Jewish Left Corrupts Judaism and Endangers Israel’, which  criticises what he describes as appropriation of the religious concept of Tikkun Olam. He argues the concept has been “quietly lifted out of context from a Jewish prayer…to mean social justice.”

The book was published in 2018.  

Elections for the Board’s officerships are due on 9 May. As an incumbent, Ms van der Zyl was expected to be unopposed. The last challenge to an incumbent was in 1964 when Barnett Janner was seeking a fourth term.