Time to boycott JW3, say Orthodox rabbis
THE CHIEF executive of JW3 has said he does not want to get involved in a dispute with the seven Orthodox rabbis who have urged their congregations to boycott the Jewish community centre.
Raymond Simonson told the JC: “At JW3, we’re really about looking for and celebrating a unified and diverse British Jewish community. And I don’t really like us to try and get dragged into incidents where people are doing things that are anti that”.
Last Friday, an open letter appeared on social media calling for members of the Orthodox community “to avoid visiting” JW3, describing the centre’s programme of activities as being “in total contradiction to Orthodox Judaism”.
The letter included a reference to a passage in the
Bible condemning homosexuality, and is believed to have been written in response to the cultural centre’s “GayW3” festival, which was held in March to mark 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain.
At the time, a poster outside the centre in northwest London advertising the event was defaced, with the word “shame” daubed on it.
Reacting to the letter, Mr Simonson said: “We’ve just entered the Nine Days, a period where the Jewish people are remembering the destruction of the Temple.
“Sinat chinam — baseless hatred — that’s what caused the destruction of the Temple and the dispersal of the Jewish people. “At a time like this and a period like this it would be inappropriate for me to be involved in anything that stirs up disunity in the Jewish community.” The letter was published with the signatures of Rabbi Aaron Bassous of Beit Hamedrash Knesset Yechezkel in Golders Green; Rabbi Yisroel Greenberg of Munks shul, also in Golders Green: Rabbi Shimon Winegarten of the Bridge Lane Beth Hamedrash in Temple Fortune, and Rabbi Mordechai Fhima of the Anshei Shalom congregation in St John’s Wood.
Three further signatures were indecipherable in the social media post, but are believed to be those of Dayan David of the Od Yosef Hai Sephardi community in Hendon; Rabbi Dovid Roberts of the Netzach Yisroel synagogue in Edgware, and Rabbi Eliezer Schneebalg of Edgware’s Machzikei Hadass.
The letter said: “It has been brought to our attention by many members of our communities that the content of the Toievah… programme of activities at the Jewish Community Centre (JW3)… in our view promotes a way of life which is in total contradiction to Orthodox Judaism and Halachah. “Accordingly, it is our opinion that members of our communities should distance themselves fully from JW3, its activities and services, and avoid visiting this Centre”.
The use of the word Toievah — Hebrew for “abomination” — is followed by a reference to “Vayikra [Leviticus] Chapter 20, verse 13”.
The biblical verse, which was not included in the letter, says: “If a man lies with a man as he lies with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They shall be put to death, their blood-guilt is upon them”.
Mr Simonson described the signatories as “learned rabbis.
“They have their communities, they have every right to have their own opinion on what it is we do”, he said.
“Of course, I don’t agree with their opinion, but they have every right to that [opinion].
“It’s a shame that they’re expressing it in this way without any of them having come and had a conversation with me. I’m always open to dialogue and conversation, as I have done with the Chief Rabbi previously.”
He said he has received messages of support from across the community following the letter’s appearance, including from a number of Orthodox rabbis. “It just reminds me that we’re doing something right,” he said.
Mr Simonson added that he thought “there is no coincidence that this statement has come out… after the whole statement around the Dweck affair”.
Over the past two months, Rabbi Dweck of the S&P Sephardi congregation faced criticism from some Orthodox rabbis over his halachic views, in a dispute sparked by positive comments he made regarding homosexuality.
The publication of the letter raised questions about the continued rabbinical supervision of Zest, the kosher restaurant on JW3’s premises. Dayan David sits on the Sephardi Beth Din; the rabbinical court’s kashrut division, and the Sephardi Kashrut Authority supervises the restaurant.
But Mr Simonson stressed that in “every conversation we’ve had with the Sephardi Kashrut Authority since we’ve opened, including in the last six months when there’ve been some of these attempts to attack JW3… they’ve been supportive.
“They share the same aim as we have, which is to provide a restaurant which brings more people into eating kosher food.”
A spokesperson for the trustees of the S&P Sephardi community said: “We understand that this letter was signed some months ago by Dayan David in a personal capacity.
“This letter bears no relevance to the kashrut status of the restaurant and we remain committed to working together with Zest in licensing its restaurant.”