Jonathan Arkush announces he will stand in Board presidential election
The race to become the next president of the Board of Deputies was hotting up this morning with the news that Jonathan Arkush is to stand.
The lawyer joins journalist and fellow Vice President Alex Brummer as the only candidates to have thrown their hats into the ring. In a surprise move, Laura Marks, one of the favourites for the top job, announced last week she would instead stand in the vice-Presidential contest in May.
Arkush said being vice-president and chair of the Board’s defence division for the past six years “have given me extensive experience in combatting antisemitism, warding off attacks on Shechita and Brit Milah and fighting the obsessive hostility directed at the State of Israel. I have always led from the front”.
In a private email seen by the Jewish News last month, he voiced fears over a potential Labour victory in the General Election and suggested the re-election of David Cameron would be in the community’s best interests. He also hit out at the BBC’s Middle East coverage following comments from its television chief Danny Cohen that he had never felt so uncomfortable as a Jew in Britain. Saying he had received support from “diverse parts of the community for his candidacy, Arkush added: “At a time of deep communal anxiety about our security and what the future might hold for British Jews, it has never been more important for our community to be robustly defended.” He has also launched attacks on UKIP and he BBC in recent months. In 2013, he drew the ire of the Jewish Leadership Council for a public attack in which he described it as “unelectable, unaccountable and unacceptable”. He later offered an apology but was removed from a JLC-Board liaison body. Marks, the founder of Mitzvah Day, said it had been an “incredibly difficult” decision to not run for the top job. But she said: “The Board is a wonderful organisation and I’m proud to be part of it. But to be president requires full-time commitment to a range of issues, including developing the role of the Board in the community. The agenda where I can make a difference for the community is to focus on our essential interfaith relationships, community cohesion and inclusion.” Brummer, the Daily Mail’s City editor, said career has given him the knowledge and contacts within politics and business to help be effective as president. He also believes there is “much in the communal architecture that needs fixing”. Meanwhile, former United Synagogue President Simon Hochhauser told the Jewish News he was still mulling a run for either president or vice-president but would only seek to succeed Vivian Wineman if other candidates “platform and skills did not match the requirements of the community”. He said there were “at least two interesting candidates”. Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do. For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain. Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life. You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with. 100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity... Engaging Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all. Celebrating There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride. Pioneering In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding. Campaigning Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance. Easy access In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people. Voice of our community to wider society The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large. We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
