Rift at Progressive synagogue after use of Israeli flag branded ‘deeply offensive’

Several former members of Leicester Progressives were left "Jewishly homeless" in the city after resigning from the synagogue following a dispute over the shul’s approach to Israel.

A handful of members of the small community resigned their membership from Neve Shalom: Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation in January last year, claiming that anti-Israel members had gained a foothold in the synagogue’s ruling council. Neve Shalom has rejected these claims of bias, stating that the community continues to have a close relationship with Israel and prays for the release of the hostages every week.

The exodus began when a Neve Shalom member objected to the inclusion of an Israeli flag in the community’s digital newsletter and the council agreed to remove the flag. Two months later, a member was told he could not advertise a Board of Deputies rally for Israel because it would be perceived as “political”.

Four members of the Kaufman family resigned their membership over the rift and the JC has seen evidence that another family also left the shul over the issue. One former member told the JC that approximately 20 members resigned, but the Neve Shalom council disputed that number.

In November 2023, a few weeks after Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, Victor Kaufman, 39, and his husband Richard Bartfield, 42, stepped down from their roles on the Neve Shalom council after a member of the community objected to an Israeli flag on the shul’s email newsletter.

Bartfield, who served as the community’s secretary and oversaw its e-newsletter, added an Israeli flag and the words “Bring them home” to the bulletin following the October 7 attack. After several weeks, a congregant emailed the council expressing dismay at the flag, describing it as "shocking" and "deeply offensive".

The member claimed that “offensive racist language being used by some senior Israeli politicians” meant including the flag on the Neve Shalom e-newsletter was tantamount to “flying the flag for the Israeli government”. The member added that the war was "unacceptable to most of us at Neve Shalom".

Following the complaint, the community’s then-president agreed to remove the flag pending a council vote. “I have no personal objections [to the Israeli flag] but I quite understand that some of our congregation would,” the president wrote in an email to Bartfield. “I think the easiest way forward would be to remove it.”

Bartfield opposed the decision and resigned as secretary in protest. Kaufman also stepped down as treasurer, stating, “I cannot serve a community that falls short of fulfilling its commitment to the state of Israel at a time where solidarity with the Jewish State has never been needed more.”

Victor Kaufman (left) and Richard Bartfield wed in Neve Shalom in 2019. A photograph of their simcha remains on the shul's website, even though the pair left over the community's alleged anti-Israel bias in January 2024 (Photo: Neve Shalom)[Missing Credit]

An attempt was made to persuade the couple – who supported the day-to-day running of the community – to reconsider, with assurances that a forthcoming council vote would likely reinstate the flag by a "large majority". However, Kaufman thought that Neve Shalom had “pandered to a minority voice in the community who do not reflect the Liberal Jewish values of support and solidarity with Israel”.

In a resignation email, he wrote: “I owe it to my friends and family in Israel to stand by them even when Israel’s enemies are shouting louder. As Liberal Jews and Zionists, we have a responsibility to stand with Israel, perhaps more so than ever now. This is in line with the affirmations of Liberal Judaism.

"The inclusion of the flag is common with other Progressive movements and synagogues. Liberal Judaism is a Zionist movement.”

Two months later, a new debate erupted in Neve Shalom when Kaufman’s father, Jeffrey Kaufman, 81, asked the shul to advertise the Board of Deputies “Stand with Israel” rally in January 2024.

He was accused by a member of the council of “testing the waters” and the event was deemed too political to advertise. “Advertising this event will be seen as provocative,” a council member who said they would prefer to attend Na’amod events emailed Jeffrey Kaufman.

Following the second rift, Victor and Jeffrey Kaufman and Bartfield resigned as members of the community.

More than a year later, the upset is still raw and Kaufman and Bartfield feel isolated in Leicester.

Kaufman believes the dispute over the flag was symptomatic of long-standing tensions within Neve Shalom over its relationship with Israel. “October 7 was just the catalyst,” he said, claiming that the community's alleged abandonment of Israel is a form of "assimilation" with local anti-Israel sentiment.

Kaufman lamented that the one place in Leicester where he had expected to find solidarity with Israel – his synagogue – was no longer an option.

The city elected pro-Gaza independent MP Shockat Adam to Parliament last July; in December, Neve Shalom hosted him for a community dinner. Dozens of Leicester streets are festooned with Palestinian flags and regular anti-Israel demonstrations take place in the city.

Neve Shalom council member, Leon Charikar, with local pro-Gaza MP Shokat Adam at a dinner hosted by the community in December 2024 (Photo: Facebook)[Missing Credit]

Kaufman, who compiled the LJY-Netzer siddur in 2005, also claimed that the prayer for the state of Israel in Neve Shalom’s siddur was replaced with a version that made no reference to Israel’s founders or its leaders. However, the shul’s rabbi, Mark Solomon, said the newer version of the prayer was common in most Liberal shuls.

Neve Shalom denied any suggestion that it has distanced itself from Israel. 

Kaufman, who grew up in Leicester, recalled how the Neve Shalom of his youth supported Israel, sponsoring him to go on tour at 16 and again during his gap year. After leaving the city for university and working in London for the Liberal movement, he returned and married his husband at Neve Shalom in 2019. Now, if the couple started a family, they would consider leaving the city.
Jeffrey Kaufman, a lifetime honorary president of Neve Shalom, echoed his son’s concerns. “A group of influential people were adamant that the two- state solution was a bad idea,” he told the JC. “For a small synagogue, with small numbers [of members], that made a difference.”

He left the shul with his son and son-in-law after decades of membership.

With no Progressive Jewish congregation in Leicester that aligns with their views, the family have joined Nottingham Liberal Synagogue, an hour’s drive away. They attend services occasionally but miss having a Jewish home in their city.

Although there is a Chabad of Leicester, Kaufman says he is a “true Progressive” and does not want to join an Orthodox synagogue. 

Palestinian flags on a residential street in Leicester (Photo: YouTube)[Missing Credit]

“There is no safe space to be a [Progressive and a] supporter of Israel in Leicester – even a moderate supporter,” Kaufman said. “I don’t like Netanyahu or the settlements – but it got to a point where I could not even support Israel at my shul.”

Neve Shalom council rejected Kaufman’s characterisation of events.

David Bartram, president of Neve Shalom, said: “These are inflammatory accusations that are completely untrue. Not a single member of our council is ‘anti-Israel’, nor do we seek to suppress views that are supportive of Israel, instead the opposite is true.

“Our community name – Neve Shalom – expresses our deep connection to Israel as well as our commitment to the value of Jews and Palestinians living peacefully together. Our council chair is a life member of WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organisation) and an active committee member there. In our prayers for Israel, we have consistently remembered the hostages and prayed for their release.”

The synagogue’s name, meaning ‘Oasis of Peace’, alludes to the name of the Israeli village Neve Shalom – Wahat-Al-Salam, which was founded jointly by Jews and Arabs in 1969.

A Gaza rally in the centre of Leicester June 2024 (Photo: YouTube)[Missing Credit]

In his statement, Bartram claimed that a “small number” of members who left the community had tried to take it down a path that was not compatible with the synagogue’s constitution. “We were sad to see them leave. We have also gained members in this period,” he said.

“Like any congregation, our members have a diversity of views – which is precisely what contributes to a healthy, vibrant community. The October 7 attacks created challenges for us. All of us were profoundly affected by the war in Israel/Gaza. We felt deep pain and anguish and engaged in several initiatives to heal fractures and move forward with unity, seeking to respond in ways that are inclusive for all Jews who want to be part of our community.”

Rabbi Mark Solomon – who is the rabbi of Neve Shalom and the chair of the Liberal Judaism Beit Din – added: "The diversity of views [at Neve Shalom]... closely mirror those of the Jewish community at large.”

In a statement sent to the JC, Liberal Judaism reiterated that the allegations being made about the community were “entirely untrue” and that Neve Shalom had a strong commitment to Israel.

The movement added: "In what continues to be an extremely challenging time for Jews across the world, the Neve Shalom Council's efforts to work with Liberal Judaism and engage members in dialogue – rather than engage in a fight and split the community – is to be lauded."