Board of Deputies of British Jews
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| Registration no. | 222160 |
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| Headquarters | London, UK |
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Region served
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UK |
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President
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Jonathan Arkush |
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Budget
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nil |
| Website | www |
The Board of Deputies of British Jews (historically London Board of Deputies and London Committee of Deputies of British Jews) is the main representative body of British Jews. Established in London in 1760, when seven Deputies were appointed by the elders of the Sephardi congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews to form a standing committee and pay homage to George III on his accession to the throne; shortly thereafter the Ashkenazi Jewish congregation from Central and Eastern Europe similarly appointed their own "Secret Committee for Public Affairs" to deal with any urgent political matters that might arise, and safeguard the interests of British Jews as a religious community, both in the British Isles, and in the colonies. They soon began to meet together as occasions arose, and then on a more frequent basis; by the 1810s they appear to have united as one body.
The Board has since become a widely recognised forum for the views of the different sectors of the UK Jewish community.
The Board is currently led by Jonathan Arkush, Deputy for Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue, who was elected as President in May 2015. The Vice-Presidents are Richard Verber (Senior Vice-President, Deputy for World Jewish Relief), Marie van der Zyl (Deputy for West London Synagogue), and Sheila Gewolb (Deputy for Cardiff United Synagogue). The Treasurer is Stuart MacDonald (Deputy for Liberal Judaism). Jonathan Arkush took the decision not to run for the chair of council of the Jewish Leadership Council, despite previous President Vivian Wineman having held this post.
The chief executive of the Board is Gillian Merron, a former Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1997 to 2010. From 2009 to 2010 she was Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health at the Department of Health. She leads a team of professional staff including Director of Public Affairs Philip Rosenberg (formerly of Faiths Forum for London), International Affairs Officer David Walsh (formerly of Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre) and Communications Officer Simon Round (formerly the Jewish Chronicle's features writer).
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Wikipedia