ljtoday
March/April 2010
VOL. XXXVII No. 2
Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
Vindicated by the Supreme Court Liberal Judaism is the only movement to have fought consistently to end JFS’s discriminatory entry criteria When the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgment that the entry criteria for pupils at JFS contravened the Race Relations Act, Liberal Judaism’s position throughout the 18-month series of hearings was vindicated. It was the only Jewish movement in Britain that welcomed the Court of Appeal ruling overturning a High Court judgment that enabled the school to deny entry to a boy because it did not recognise his mother’s conversion. ‘We have taken the clearest and outspoken position on this,’ said Rabbi Danny Rich, who has been forthright in his assertion that JFS, a state-funded school, had been selecting applicants on the basis of religious politics. ‘The Orthodox definition of Jewish excludes 40 per cent of the Jewish community in this country,’ he added.
End of rabbinic law
In this issue News and ‘Around the Communities’
‘Judaism is transmitted not by birth, but by identity and upbringing.’ Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Board of Deputies began to put into action a plan to press for a change in the law. But this plan collapsed partly because more thought neded to be given to any change in legislation, and because of a lack of support from Liberal Judaism. Dinah Rose QC, who represented the father of a boy denied entry to JFS, gave a talk to rabbis and staff members at the Montagu Centre. She reflected on the implications of the ruling, and the long path to victory. Asked what the atmosphere during breaks in court sessions had been like – considering the deep oppositions between the all-Jewish litigants – she said there had been no hostility, adding: ‘It was just like a kiddush.’ Our vision of Judaism, page 5
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The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen What did campaigners achieve? Report by our delegates 6 Viewpoint Remembering the miracles pf the Exodus
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LJY-Netzer Youth activities
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Lifeline for Ukraine as movement backs WJR Liberal Judaism is proud to be involved in an exciting new initiative with World Jewish Relief, the UK-based international development charity, supporting its programme in the city of Kharkov, Ukraine. The project will be launched formally at Liberal Judaism’s Biennial Weekend in April. In Ukraine, the fallout from the collapse of Communism, compounded during recent months by the recession in western Europe, has had a devastating effect, particularly on the elderly. Up to three million pensioners in the country face dire poverty, and are now more dependent on welfare support than ever. Kharkov is in the industrial north-east of Ukraine, its ‘rust-belt’. The city depended on the USSR’s high military spending to Continued on back page
In our second article marking 200 years of Progressive Judaism, Rabbi David Goldberg examines the changes in theological beliefs that flowed from the emancipated approach of the early 19th century. Sacrifice is history, page 9
Order your haggadah Liberal Judaism has published its exciting Haggadah B’chol Dor Va-Dor (a haggadah for all generations). Order form, page 4
Many in Kharkov, Ukraine, face a daily struggle