West London Synagogue spent £138,000 in the wake of bullying allegations
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

West London Synagogue spent £138,000 in the wake of bullying allegations

An unnamed group of 'very generous benefactors' contributed £113,000 to cover the costs of appointing 'professional advisers'

Rabbi David Mitchell
Rabbi David Mitchell

West London Synagogue has spent £138,000 in the wake of bullying allegations levelled against its co-senior rabbi, David Mitchell.

Of the total sum, which was spent on appointing “professional advisers”, £113,000 came from “very generous benefactors”, who were not named in a report published ahead of its annual general meeting last week.

The synagogue will “only be required to bear £25,000 of these costs”, the report says.

Rabbi David Mitchell, who denies all the allegations against him, was accused of bullying and inappropriate behaviour by former members of staff.

He took up his senior role at the synagogue on 1 April after agreeing to take time away following the claims, which dated back to 2016.

Sir Michael Burton, a former High Court Judge and president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, led an investigation which found “no grounds” to the claims.

West London Synagogue was contacted for comment.
Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: