21 March 2016 Woodford Liberal Synagogue was full to capacity on Shabbat for the baby blessing of Rabbi Richard Jacobi’s first grandchild. Family, friends and congregates gathered for a Purim family service and the ceremony for baby Zachary, whose great-grandfather, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, carried out the blessing. The community’s youth … Read More
Wandering scroll finds its way to Crouch End
21 March 2016 The community at Crouch End Chavurah have welcomed a ‘new’ Torah scroll that is more than 100 years old and travels around the world. Canadian-born sofer Avielah Barclay – the first female Torah scribe for 250 years – visited the community at Shabbat and revealed many interesting … Read More
Join our young adult post-Purim party
13 March 2016 Liberal Judaism has teamed up with the Movement for Reform Judaism for a post-Purim party with a difference. The annual Progressive Purim party will take place in Camden on Thursday March 24, from 8pm, and is open to all young adults and their friends. Purim is the … Read More
LJ’s Surat-Shaan named as LGBTQI+ role model
15 February 2016 Liberal Judaism’s Surat-Shaan Knan has been selected as a Stonewall ‘role model’ for LGBT History Month. Celebrated every February, the aim of the month is to celebrate the lives and achievements of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people from the past and present. The theme this year … Read More
One big Friday night dinner
8 February 2016 The Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community (GLJC) gathered most of its members together in January for a simultaneous Friday night dinner party. Eighty people united in nine houses around Gloucestershire, enjoying home cooked food contributed by those taking part. Members were grouped together into convenient geographical locations to … Read More
Away from home: conferences and Kallah
Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein 1 January 2016 This year will see two important conferences held in the UK – that of the European Union for Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) in April in London and then the Liberal Judaism Biennial Weekend in Solihull in July. Both are opportunities to meet Jews from … Read More
Liberal rabbis to speak at pioneering LGBTQI event
26 October 2015 Liberal Judaism’s rabbis will be speaking at a very special Ritual Reconstructed event at JW3 on Tuesday November 24, which seeks to examine Jewish life through an LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer and intersex) lens. Ritual Reconstructed is a collaborative, community and academic project working with … Read More
‘An empowering and unforgettable summer’
Surat-Shaan Knan 1 September 2015 Twilight People project manager Surat-Shaan Knan reports back after having spread the word about Liberal Judaism’s pioneering LGBT+ work at two global gatherings: This summer, I was invited to attend two major international events – Gender Odyssey and Eighteen:22. Gender Odyssey is an international conference, … Read More
Gloucestershire wins the LAFTAs
8 June 2015 Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community (GLJC) has won the prestigious Liberal Academy of Film & Torah Awards (LAFTAs). The cheder/religion school of every Liberal community was tasked with producing a three-minute film on the theme ‘A Day in the Life of Israel’. GLJC fought off stiff competition to … Read More
Stephen Fry saves Rainbow Jews
7 October 2014 World-renowned actor and comedian Stephen Fry has donated more than £2,000 to Rainbow Jews to keep the ground-breaking LGBTQI+ oral history project running. Rainbow Jews had been seeking to raise funds to continue its great work through an online crowdfunding initiative. With just two days left to … Read More