Mutiny at Western Marble Arch synagogue as members call for leadership change
EXCLUSIVE: Allegations of cronyism and nepotism and claims the shul is run by 'people that are way too old and won't give up their positions'
Twenty prominent and long-standing members of Western Marble Arch synagogue signed a furious petition to senior leadership on Tuesday, protesting the way the historic orthodox shul is being run and calling for the exit of the trustees, board members, wardens and president.
An astonishing letter seen by Jewish News calls for an emergency general meeting to address serious concerns at the Wallenberg Place shul, including “governance failure” and “loss of confidence” amidst calls to modernise the voting process.
The historic Orthodox synagogue, built in 1961, recently saw the sudden departure of respected rabbinical couple Rabbi Daniel Epstein and Rebbetzin Ilana Epstein, who left for Australia at the end of 2025 after five years in post, to lead Melbourne’s Mizrachi community. Speaking at the time, they said they “were not looking to move but this was too big an opportunity to turn down”.
Speaking under condition of anonymity, one signatory to the letter claimed: “Rabbi Epstein didn’t leave. His position was made untenable by a combination of dysfunction and politics. And he was an excellent rabbi”, adding, “Daniel did his level best. He’s a really, really good guy, a hard worker, and they just stymied him at every possible opportunity.”
In a damning indictment, the signatory also claimed that cronyism and nepotism were at the heart of the synagogue’s governance, with decisions made to “populate the boards with people that will do what you say, and then you basically get on with and rewrite the rule book if you want to do something which you normally need to go to the community with.”
Describing the general community as “wonderful, extremely nice”, “helpful” and “productive”, they lamented that “no one’s basically able to do anything because they’re blocked.”
There are also allegations that “attendance has fallen off a cliff, sometimes they’re not even getting a minyan every day, and membership is declining rapidly”.
The letter calls for an chair who is independent of the current board and the Western Charitable Foundation to preside over any EGM because “the business includes proposed removal of trustees (including the President and Wardens) and related motions, there is an obvious and material conflict of interest if any person who is the subject of a motion presides over it.”
Because board members are directors, any resolution to remove them engages the Companies Act 2006, meaning there is a legal requirement to respond to the call for an EGM within 14 days.
“They’ll probably try and wheedle out of it through a technicality initially,” the signatory suggested. “But the thing is, it’s going to be. This is going to come as a shot across the bows. They’re also not going to want it to go out of control. So they’re going to try, probably, to negotiate.”
Jewish News has contacted Western Marble Arch synagogue for comment.
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