Rabbi and rebbetzin to leave Golders Green Synagogue after 20 years

Harvey Belovski and Vicki Belovski are stepping down as rabbi and rebbetzin of Golders Green synagogue after more than two decades.

The couple will leave at the end of 2023 to “allow the executive to carefully consider the community’s future rabbinic needs and in due course, recruit excellent successors”.

A joint statement reads: “We recognise that leadership includes knowing not just how and when to lead, but also when the time has come to pass on the baton of leadership. This decision has been a difficult one for us, but we are confident that it is right for GGS and for us.”

David Vaughan, Chair of Golders Green Synagogue, thanked Harvey and Vicki Belovski for leading the community for nearly 20 years, saying:“We are very grateful for the enormous contribution that they have made to our community.”

“Their impact has materially transformed our community into one of the most vibrant, open, inclusive, and diverse Modern Orthodox communities in British Jewry. I appreciate that change can be unsettling, particularly as Rabbi Belovski and Vicki have provided us with seamless and expert leadership for so long. However, change can also be positive and create opportunities for our community,” Vaughan continued.

The selection process to find a new senior rabbinical couple will begin in the coming weeks and start with wide-ranging community consultations.

“We will be canvassing as many of your views as possible before embarking on the formal selection process to recruit excellent successors to the Belovskis,” Vaughan said.