4 January 2017

Liberal Judaism and Leo Baeck College (LBC) stand in solidarity with America’s Hebrew Union College (HUC) and denounce the defacement of HUC’s Cincinnati campus with a swastika on Tuesday.

Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, principal of Leo Baeck College, said: “Current political trends appear, over recent months, to have emboldened less tolerant members of both our societies in the UK and USA.

“As Progressive Jews, we stand united against this trend and will continue to reach out across religious divides to help build a more inclusive and tolerant society in both our nations.

“Leo Baeck College, in particular, as an institution that has been built out the ashes of the Shoah, knows the destructive power of racial and religious hatred. I have spoken to Rabbi Aaron Panken, president of HUC, to express our solidarity with them at this time.”

Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Liberal Judaism’s director of strategy and partnerships, added: “Progressive Judaism will always stand against hatred and as a testament to what can be built by people of vision and understanding.”