Board of Deputies’ Yachad vote delayed over Gaza

A vote on whether to give political campaign group Yachad representation on the Board of Deputies has been delayed because of the Gaza crisis.

A Sunday meeting of communal representatives was due to debate the admission application but a motion to defer it to September passed by a narrow amount.

“Deputies decided that there was not enough time to give proper consideration to this motion, given everything else on the agenda,” a spokesman said.

“Sir Ivan Lawrence argued that there wasn’t time to do justice to the debate and that the debate be delayed until there was time.”

Non-synagogue organisations can only be admitted on the recommendation of the Constitution Committee and with the approval of two thirds of voting members at an ordinary meeting of the Board.

The Constitution Committee, chaired by Tony Leifer, decided – with the exception of one member – to recommend Yachad for representation on the Board because it was “beneficial to the community and should be so represented”.

Led by Hannah Weisfeld, the organisation supports a two-state solution and facilitates several initiatives aimed at educating the British Jewish community about life in Israel and the State of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.