OPINION: The real value of working together
By rabbi Leah Jorda
If you’re American like me, your knowledge of ‘community organising’ is something like ‘that sexy thing Barack Obama did on the streets of Chicago before he went into politics’.
If you’re British, your associations may cluster more around trade union organising. The UK Jewish community’s work (specifically the Masorti, Reform and Liberal Movements) with Citizens UK, the organisation which calls itself the home of community organising in the UK, is perhaps the most exciting endeavour we have succeeded in doing cross-communally.
Community organising aims to create meaningful, sustainable change in our society.
In Citizens’ own words, “Community organising is based on the principle that when people work together they have the power to change their neighbourhoods, cities and ultimately the country for the better.
“We work with people who want to transform the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. To do this, we listen to our members, asking them about their concerns and developing strategies to improve our communities. We ensure that civil society is at the negotiating table alongside the market and state.”
Along with three other rabbis (Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism, and Charley Baginsky and David Mitchell, congregational rabbis at Kingston Liberal Synagogue and West London Synagogue), I just returned from a six-day training course in community organising with Citizens. Our synagogues and communities have worked with Citizens for over a year.
Take one example – six congregations across the Liberal Movement organised to support increasing the UK’s intake of refugee families from 750 to 1,500. Kingston Liberal Synagogue along with other local faith communities built a sukkah in the middle of Kingston town centre to symbolise the fragility of shelter in our world.
They invited the council leader and requested that Kingston should house more refugees and the communities would all play their part in helping settle them. The request was accepted. • Rabbi Leah Jordan is a student and young adult chaplain of Liberal Judaism
Read more from progressive Judaism:
Two Voices: Should there be a uniquely Jewish way of marking Remembrance Sunday?
Desert Island Text: Deuteronomy 30:11–14
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.
