Edgware and Hendon Reform rabbi to join West London Synagogue
Just five months after Reform's flagship shul suspended its membership of the movement, WLS announced the appointment of new Associate Rabbi Emily Reitsma-Jurman
A rabbi from Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue is to join West London Synagogue just five months after it suspended its Reform Judaism membership.
West London Synagogue chair Andrew Stone announced the appointment of new Associate Rabbi Emily Reitsma-Jurman on Tuesday, saying she “brings many skills, qualities and interests”.
WLS was the largest Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) shul until it caused communal waves by suspending its membership in February, angered by MRJ statements about bullying allegations levelled against WLS’s Rabbi David Mitchell.
Reitsma-Jurman has spent seven years at Edgware and Hendon and will join the WLS rabbinate early next year, with Stone saying she would “make a significant contribution to our vision and future direction”.
Mitchell and Co-Senior Rabbi Helen Freeman said the new recruit was “already well known for her excellent work”, adding: “She will make a much-valued colleague and will bring so much to our community family, particularly in the connections she looks forward to making with our families and younger members.”
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