Today, the annual Pride parade is taking place through the streets of Brighton. To mark the 25th anniversary of Pride in the city, the assembly point has reverted to Hove Lawns, the gathering point in the early years. I have often been among the marchers, but here I am today talking about Pride, rather than […]
During the past year, TV, tablet and laptop screens have been filled with images of refugees in terrible plight, fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria, Iraq and Libya. In recent months the gaze of the cameras has focused on images of dilapidated boats crammed full of people desperate to escape Libyan shores; of thousands drowning, […]
Why do Liberal Jews continue to read the Torah? For many reasons: its timeless ethical teachings; the fascinating stories of our ancestors and the beginnings of our people; because the tales it tells remain relevant for our own lives today – not least those centred on human relationships and struggles. And there are so many […]
Last weekend – from Thursday, April 16 through Sunday 19, to be precise – I attended a very special conference of Jewish women activists, academics, artists and rabbis. We gathered under the auspices of _Bet Debora_ – ‘the House of Deborah’ – a network which was set up in Berlin in 1998 to provide a […]
Did you watch the Channel 4 documentary, ‘Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True’? It was presented by Trevor Phillips OBE, former Chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, and was aired on Thursday, March 19? From the outset, myths and stereotypes about the various ethnic groups that live in Britain today […]
Anti-Semitism is in the news again. First: the deadly assault on the kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9 (2015), which claimed four lives, two days after the murderous attack against Charlie Hebdo magazine.[1] Then, on Shabbat, February 14: the killing of a Jewish man on security duty and the wounding of a police officer outside a synagogue in […]
Je suis Charlie: I value free speech and deplore the terrorist assault on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, and its journalists, that took place in Paris on January 7. Je ne suis pas Charlie: I also deplore hate speech and images directed at vulnerable minorities, and believe that all members of society – including journalists – […]
It’s been quite a year. For me, personally, of course: I can’t believe that I went on sick leave on January 3rd, and have been absent from the congregation for almost 12 months. During that time, as I read the weekly and monthly bulletins, I have felt immensely proud of how the Shul has not […]
Today in congregations the world over, Jews are gathering to celebrate the New Year and inaugurate the Yamim Norai’m, the ‘Days of Awe’. Awe: a feeling spired by our sense of the transcendent – that which is beyond us. In a sense, Rosh Ha-Shanah is not about us and has very little to do with […]
Dear friends: It is wonderful to be here this evening, celebrating together and marking an important milestone on the way to liberation. The last time I stood on this spot was when I gave my ordination address 25 years ago. As we gather together, I’m very much aware of the absence of Rabbi Lionel Blue. […]