New Sephardi beth din head urged boycott of JW3 over LGBT festival

 The new head of the Sephardi Beth Din is a rabbi who urged the boycott of Jewish community centre JW3 because it celebrated the contribution of gay Jews.

Dayan Abraham David, who will take over from Israel-based Dayan Yaron Navon, was part of a panel convened by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to review the teachings of the S&P Sephardi Community Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck (pictured) last year.

Dweck caused upset by saying that society’s acceptance of different sexualities had been a good thing for humanity. He kept his job but stepped down from the Sephardi Beth Din, or rabbinic court.

Dweck said: “The new structure of the Beth Din will mean that its work will become even stronger and more effective and it will be able to serve the greater Sephardi community more efficiently in its work with gittin [divorces], conversions, and arbitrations on Torah law, among other things.”