13 July 2018

Liberal Judaism is proud to announce the winners of its 2018 Chair’s Awards.

Handed out every two years, at the Liberal Judaism Biennial Weekend, they honour members who have gone above and beyond while serving the movement at a national and/or local level.

Winners were nominated by their communities and then selected for an award by a specially selected panel including Liberal Judaism chair Simon Benscher.

Presenting the awards, Simon said: “This opportunity to celebrate these shining lights of Liberal Judaism, who do so much to support our movement’s values and principles, is a real highlight of my role.”

This year’s winners were:

Ruth Colin of Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue for her work with music and choirs both within her own community and across the Liberal movement. The music during services at the Biennial Weekend itself was a wonderful example of her work.

Judith Diamond of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) for her volunteering work supporting so many aspects of synagogue life. Judith was also praised for her work with Singing for the Mind – an incredible workshop established at the LJS, with the Alzheimer’s Society, to provide stimulation for those with memory problems.

Vivienne Fleet of Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community for helping to keep the congregation running during tough times and her fantastic interfaith work across the region.

Hava Fleming of York Liberal Jewish Community for her contribution to the life and soul of the relatively new York community. In particular, in the absence of a rabbi, Hava has supported more than a dozen Jews by choice through parts of their conversion process.

Annie Henriques of Norwich Liberal Jewish Community for her involvement in the unprecedented dynamism and growth of the Norwich community. The panel were particularly inspired by her involvement in Norfolk’s refugee resettlement programme.

Andrea Narcin of Finchley Progressive Synagogue for her social action work. As well as organising Finchley’s Mitzvah Day for a number of years, Andrea is so committed a coordinator of the Together in Barnet Night Shelter that she does a number of the overnights on the floor herself.

Gerry Ostermeyer of Southgate Progressive Synagogue for his incredible commitment to his community and the entire Liberal movement. There isn’t a facet of synagogue life that Gerry hasn’t been involved in.

Paula Scott of Nottingham Liberal Synagogue for an incredible 30 years of service and dedication to her community. Paula has done particularly fantastic cross-communal and interfaith work in the area.

Hannah Stephenson of LJY-Netzer, Liberal Judaism’s youth movement, for enabling an enormous amount of young people to have the incredible experience of LJY-Netzer events. Hannah also has a remarkable gift for music that she uses to inspire so many through prayer, including during the Biennial Weekend.