PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR GLASGOW JEWISH REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL DELEGATE MEETING 20TH MARCH 2012
COMMUNITY FUTURE PROJECT
This ongoing Project is under the auspices of The Representative Council and is being coordinated by Paul Morron.
1. The Action Phase of the Glasgow Jewish Community Futures Project has commenced.
2. Three Groups have been established to look at aspects of the future needs of the Glasgow Jewish Community. The first Group meetings have taken place. These Groups and their remits are:
Group 1: To consider the future spiritual and religious needs of the community and how they could be best achieved. The objective is to meet the religious and spiritual needs of the orthodox, reform and other communities or persons within the Jewish Community of Greater Glasgow.
Group 2: To consider the future social care needs of the community and how they could best be achievedThe nature of these needs include social care, health and well being of members of the community.
Group 3: To consider the future needs of/for members of the Jewish Community to gain, retain and strengthen their Jewish identity and thereby encourage their involvement in/with the Jewish community and how such needs are best met.This will involve consideration of a sufficient range of opportunities, services and interests concerning education, Israel, social and cultural needs – both formal and informal – to satisfy the needs of a pluralistic community.
3. The chairs of the 3 Groups are:
Group 1 : Stephen Gold
Group 2: Suzanne Neville
Group 3: Joel Conn
A total of over 30 members of the community have agreed to serve on these Groups.
The Groups have been asked to report back within 3 months.
As President of the Representative Council I will chair a co-ordinating Group.
4. The chairs of the 3 Groups have made the following joint appeal:
“We invite any members of the Glasgow Jewish Community who would like to participate in the work of any of the Groups to get in touch. We would value your opinions, your ideas and your views.”
Anyone interested should contact The Representative Council Offices.
5. The Futures Project will be open and inclusive. All Reports will be published. After we hear the Groups’ views, there will be a wide ranging community consultation exercise which will last for 3 months.”
Special provision will be made to ensure that the opinions of the youth of the Community can be meaningfully expressed and heard. They must have a real opportunity to influence the future of their community.
The high level statement of purpose of the Project reads:
“The purpose of the Glasgow Jewish Futures project is to plan for the future needs of the Glasgow Jewish Community and how these needs are best met.
The Community needs to plan to meet its future internal needs and its future external needs.
The Glasgow Jewish Community is a pluralistic community. We wish to plan to meet the future (a) religious (b) social care (c) external (d) educational, identification, social and (e) youth needs of the community in a manner which is inclusive, sustainable and where members of the community feel part of, at ease with and able to contribute to the community.”
CST
Fiona Brodie and I met in December with David Delew and Ed Anderson from CST Manchester, Ralph Gurevitz and Jeff Vulkan (CST Glasgow Volunteers). A wide ranging discussion took place regarding the relationships between CST and Glasgow Community and the problems facing CST in Glasgow. We agreed where possible to assist in promoting the activities of CST who are struggling to recruit volunteers. The Security Meeting this evening was one of the positive outcomes of that discussion.
Gathering the Voices Project
You may have seen press reports recently regarding the launching of the Project which secured funding from Glasgow City Council. We will not be involved in the receipt or distribution of these funds as it has now been handled through the Council. Angela Shapiro and her team are to be praised for bringing the Project to fruition.
Genealogy Project
The project proposes to carry out a pioneering demographic and genealogical study of Scottish Jewry since its emergence as a community in the early 19th century. Its aim is to conduct a scientific survey into the origins, composition and human development of Scottish Jewry with a view to comprehending its efforts to maintain its own identity, values and traditions within an increasingly pluralistic environment. The project is co-sponsored by the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council and the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, in conjunction with the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy in Jerusalem. The research proposal was elaborated by an international group of experts and will be implemented over 3-4 years by the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, in collaboration with other parties, all under appropriate academic supervision.
The project will be delivered in the form of:
i. A scientific monograph containing the full results of the demographic and genealogical survey;
ii. A companion volume aimed at general audiences, Jewish and non-Jewish;
iii. A travelling exhibition;
iv. Teaching aids, designed (a) to excite the younger generation about its heritage and (b) to foster inter-group relations with other minorities in Scotland.
The project will be of interest and benefit – first, to members of the Scottish Jewish community and of the relatively large Scottish Jewish “Diaspora”, providing them a fuller picture of their backgrounds and heritage from two unique perspectives and, second, to British Jews interested in the development of Anglo-Jewry as a whole. It will also be of benefit to demographers, genealogists and social scientists researching both self-standing national Jewish communities and minority groups, facing the challenges of modernity, assimilation and multi-ethnicity. In this context, the project will be of benefit to other ethnic and religious groups in Scotland and indeed to the Scottish Government, which has as one of its strategic aims the positive integration of minorities.
Beyond the survey’s intrinsic value from the academic view-point, it is also important for the educational impact it will have on Scottish Jews in terms of self-identity and self-understanding, as well as on other minority groups who may see in Scottish Jewry an example of a well-integrated community that has contributed to Scottish and British society in general in ways disproportionate to its relatively small size. Finally, the project may serve as a significant model for other national Jewries of similar size and age - for example in Ireland, Wales, the Scandinavian countries and Switzerland.
With the assistance of Dr Kenneth Collins The Representative Council have secured a £32K grant from The Rothschild Foundation for this Project. The funds have still to be received.
The Representative Council have agreed to contribute £1K towards the initial cost of this Project. The substantive work in connection with the Project will be implemented by IIJG in conjunction with The Scottish Jewish Archives Centre with the assistance of qualified academics and perhaps other research parties.
Israeli Ambassador
I have been in discussion with Stanley Lovatt the Honorary Israeli Consul for Scotland regarding a proposed visit by the Israeli Ambassador to Glasgow. At present no dates have been finally arranged for this visit and for security reasons none will be announced.
Calderwood Lodge
I attended a meeting of the Jewish Education Advisory Group at Calderwood on 13th February. The meeting discussed among other topics:-
Staffing/Jewish Curriculum Priorities/Training for Staff/The School Project – Who Do You Think You Are.
I attended an open day at the school on 7th March and was given a guided tour of the school by two P7 pupils. I have also been invited to this year’s Messibat Siddur tomorrow.
The school has experienced staffing difficulties in the Kodesh and Ivrit Departments due to long term illnesses of two of their teachers. I have offered constructive suggestions to the Head Teacher as to how this situation may be dealt with should a similar problem occur in future.
Chanukah Carnival
I attended the Community Chanukah Carnival at Maccabi on 20th December. The event was a rousing success and I expressed my appreciation to Sue Faber and all those involved in its organisation.
Visit to Downing Street
On 20th December I received an invitation to attend the Chanukah Reception at Downing Street on 21st December hosted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Education. I accepted the invitation and attended the Event. It was a privilege to attend the Event on behalf of our Community and the Government are to be commended for celebrating Chanukah with our Community in this unique way.
Holocaust Memorial Day
I have attended four Events to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day:-
1. Holocaust Memorial Lecture at The University of Glasgow.
2. The National Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Dundee.
3. GRS Commemoration Service.
4. East Renfrewshire Council’s Memorial Event.
GJRC arranged for invitations to the Dundee Event to be sent to Members of our Community and organised a bus (to be paid for by The Scottish Interfaith Council). Paula Cowan and I attended two meetings with East Renfrewshire Council before their Event. They advised us of their plans and we provided them with some advice. I provided a list of Members of our Community (including Holocaust Survivors) for them to invite.
SCOJEC
A joint meeting was held between The Representative Council and SCOJEC (Scottish Council for Jewish Communities) last week to discuss matters of mutual interest. Whilst it was clear at the meeting that we operate in different spheres we do exchange and share communal facilities and are looking for ways where that cooperation can be enhanced in future. Like most Voluntary Organisations recruiting new blood is an ongoing problem.
Yom Hashoah
This year’s Commemoration which The Representative Council are again privileged to organise will take place in the Banqueting Suite of GNHC on Wednesday 18th April 2012. I urge all of you to attend. The theme of this year’s commemoration is based on the book “The Other Schindlers” which tells of many unsung heroes who rescued Jews from the Holocaust. Agnes Grunwald Spier will be the special guest for the evening and will give her personal account of her and her families rescue. My thanks to Jane Tobias and the Yom Hashoah Committee for their hard work in organising this commemoration.
The Anne Frank Trust
I have received an invitation to attend on 17th April the launch of an Exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery of “Anne Frank, A History for Today” This exhibition at Kelvingrove will be the 100th venue for Anne Frank Scotland.
Shaliach
I recently met Gilad Amit the Jewish Agency Shailiach based in Leeds and Rafi Nissim the Head of the Jewish Agency in the UK. Joanna Hyman of UJIA attended this meeting. The Jewish Agency were looking for The Glasgow Jewish Community to employ either a full time Shaliach or a part-time Shaliach in conjunction with another Community in the UK (possibly Liverpool). Their proposals are currently under consideration. Gilad had offered to come to Glasgow free of charge between now and the summer on a part-time basis to engage in whatever activities we could mutually agree. It is hoped to arrange a meeting here shortly with Gilad and UJIA to discuss this latest proposal.
Board of Deputies
I attended last Sunday the Board of Deputies Regional Plenary in Newcastle. The Board carry out invaluable work on behalf of the Jewish Community and for this reason The Representative Committee consider it incumbent upon us to support their work by continuing to send two delegates to the Board. The current delegates are myself and Paul Edlin who is a Vice President of the Board and Chair of The International Relations Division. An election for delegates to the next Triennium of the Board will take place this evening.
Honorary Treasurer
Jeffrey Jesner stepped down as our Honorary Treasurer on 31st December. I wish to express my thanks to Jeffrey for his hard work on behalf of the Council during his period as Treasurer. Geoff Jacobs, a director with KPMG, has taken over the duties as Treasurer pro tem from 1st January. There is a proposal before the meeting tonight to formally appoint Geoff as Honorary Treasurer of the Council.