JLC summit confronts post-uni Jewish ‘cliff edge’ for young adults
Dozens of 21–26-year-olds shaped grassroots ideas in central London design sprint, backed by seed funding
More than 40 young Jewish adults gathered in central London on Monday evening for a Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) summit tackling the “cliff edge” many face after youth movements and university Jewish societies.
Participants split into groups to map their needs and build project proposals, with seed funding pledges for the strongest ideas. Chatham House-style rules were adopted to allow open discussion, with organisers stressing the evening was “about you” rather than institutions.
Four grassroots entrepreneurs rotated between tables to describe their own journeys of starting projects: Emily Theodore, founder of MizzRaqi; Amos Schonfield, founder of refugee youth movement Our Second Home; Moses Seitler, founder of Screen Share, a project providing laptops for refugees; and Stephen Phillips, Executive Director of Jewish Employee Resource Groups.
Theodore told participants: “I wanted a space where Jews of Mizrachi and Sephardi heritage could feel represented, hear music they connected to, and meet others. The first event had 30 people. The last one had 180. It showed me the demand was already there – it just needed someone to start it.”
Schonfield, explained: “The early days were about proving it could work. We ran a pilot with borrowed funds and hardly any structure. Eight years later, we have hubs in London and Bristol, a staff team and hundreds of participants. But it all came from taking that first step.”
For attendees, the message struck a chord. Victoria Caplin, 23, a healthcare communications worker, said: “It’s quite hard, especially now, to find jobs and feel secure. Being here, surrounded by people going through the same thing, makes you feel less alone.”
Ariella Knoble-Gershon, 22, the Board of Deputies’ Campaigns Officer, described the summit as “a chance to network with like-minded individuals and think creatively about what we can do as young people to build community.”
Amanda Wilson, 27, who runs the young adults’ group at Bushey United Synagogue, said: “Once you finish with youth movements or JSoc, there’s nothing for you until you’re much older. Shul can feel intimidating at this stage of life, so we started running pub nights, film evenings, and discussions to make people feel welcome.”
The summit followed a JLC-commissioned study published last month by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), which found family life and peer-led experiences play the biggest role in shaping Jewish identity but warned of a “critical gap” once young adults leave university. Carolyn Bogush, who co-chairs the JLC’s Forge the Future Young People workstream, said at the time: “In 20 to 30 years’ time, if we want a thriving Jewish community, we have to be investing in the now, and it’s at our peril if we ignore this.”
The JLC closed the evening with a pledge to back promising pilots: “This is your opportunity to share innovative and exciting projects at a time when it’s needed most.”
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