OPINION: The Board of Deputies isn’t as representative as it once was

Joe Millis’ thought-provoking article about the Board of Deputies will trigger debate among those who are or who have been associated with it and, indeed, among all those who want the best for Jewish communal organisations.

In essence there are three main issues to consider. First, the degree to which the Board is actually representative of British Jews, second the actions of the Board in recent times and finally the extent to which the Board can in any way be said to be meeting the aspirations of the Jewish community and leading it.

There have been huge changes in many aspects of Jewish life in the UK over the past 50 to 75 years. One of these is the decline of the synagogue as the primary centre of Jewish activity. The 2017 report prepared by the Board and the Institute for Jewish Policy Research estimated that a substantial minority of British Jews do not belong to a synagogue – around 44% of Jewish households. It could well be over 50% by now. Furthermore, the report stated that there are 454 synagogues in the UK, whereas the Board can boast only around 150 synagogues being represented among its Deputies. All this suggests that Deputies on the Board can probably be said to represent barely 20% of British Jews via synagogues. Apart from synagogues, only some 30 Jewish organisations are represented on the Board.

Moving on to the Board’s actions, it seems that Mr Millis is full of praise for the Board whenever it takes a woke, left-of-centre or anti-Israel stance. Notably, he praises the Board for its horrendous insults of Betzalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party in Israel. Many in our community, even those such as myself who deplore Smotrich’s purported comments, take a very different view and regard the Board’s behaviour on this matter in rudely telling Smotrich that he wasn’t welcome in the UK as a stain on the reputation of British Jewry. The Board was severely criticised over this issue by no less a figure than Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is himself politically left-of-centre. I do not believe that the Board of Deputies has ever been publicly criticised by an Israeli President before, and this should have been a resignation issue for the Board’s President and/or its chief executive. Indeed, it might have been, were it not for the fact that such a small part of our community pays any attention to the Board.

Mr Millis also talks about the Board’s work in standing up for the Chinese Uighurs, refugees and asylum seekers. These are all valiant campaigns that have a great deal of support, but are they issues that a Jewish representative body should be addressing, when matters relating to our own community are pressing? The Board has a social justice committee which devotes its efforts to issues such as these, and Board staff members are employed to work on them. Is that what the payers of the annual £30 communal levy expect the Board to be doing with their monies?

The corollary regarding Mr Millis’s comments is that he criticises the Board whenever it does NOT follow his left-wing principles. Many in the community see absolutely nothing wrong with the comments of Liz Truss regarding Jews setting up businesses and protecting the family.  Indeed, the expression “Jewish values” so beloved of the political left is hugely subjective in meaning. If the Board has indeed stayed silent on this issue, they are right to have done so, and this contrasts favourably with its behaviour a few years ago when it criticised Conservative MP Suella Braverman (now the Attorney General) for using the expression “cultural Marxism” on the grounds that, for some, it was perceived as an antisemitic trope.

As for meeting community aspirations and leadership, perhaps the most fundamental question is to ask what the Jewish public in the UK expects from its community organisations. I think there are probably four main roles, namely (i) security (ii) the ear of government (iii) fighting antisemitism and (iv) support for Israel. All or almost all of these issues and related aspects were at one time addressed by the Board. Today, all of them are far better addressed by different groups outside the Board, with the latter’s role ranging from zero to minimal. This situation has developed over twenty or so years, but has been especially profound under the Board’s current lack of effective leadership.

On security, the fantastic work done by the CST is essential for the safety of all of us. Additionally, very valuable contributions are made by the Shomrim groups. On having the ear of government, we need look no further than the Jewish Leadership Council, which is well respected in the corridors of power especially because, in the words of its council chair Keith Black, its role is to “avoid politicisation” and the “scolding group-think of identity politics” (https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/jlc-chair-black-says-role-of-his-organisation-is-to-avoid-politicisation/).

On fighting antisemitism, even the briefest of reviews of the main Jewish newspapers each week will show anyone that the Board has been totally eclipsed by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is effectively our community’s leader in the battle against the sick virus of Jew-hatred. On support for Israel, a variety of groups totally unconnected to the Board fulfil this role, notably Stand With Us, and a plethora of active and vibrant Friends of Israel groups, both of a political and of a regional nature. It should also be mentioned that UK Lawyers for Israel are especially active, both in fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel.

Whither, then, the Board of Deputies? Or should that be Wither?

• Gary Mond is Chairman of the National Jewish Assembly.