31 December 2018

Andree Frieze, a Green Party Councillor for the London Borough of Richmond-Upon-Thames council, was formally welcomed into Judaism at an Admission Ceremony at Kingston Liberal Synagogue (KLS) this Shabbat.

Andree has been an active member of KLS since 2012 when she and her husband, Shimon Morad, who is Israeli, joined the community. Both their sons, Natan and Guy, had their barmitzvahs at KLS.

The Admission Ceremony was conducted by Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Liberal Judaism’s director of strategy and partnerships and Kingston’s former rabbi.

As well as being a Green Party Councillor, Andree has just taken on a new part-time role as membership coordinator for Eco Synagogue, an organisation helping Jewish communities to become more environmentally aware.

“Why did I decide to convert now?” says Andree, who has just celebrated her 50th birthday. “Ultimately, it’s because I feel Jewish. I want to be Jewish because of the sense of community it gives me, because of the tradition it comes from, because its moral teachings fit with my own and, above all, because it feels like it’s meant to be.”

Picture: Andree (second from left) with her husband, Shimon, sons Guy and Natan and Rabbi Charley Baginsky.