We need to talk about Brexit — the conversation is overdue
However she did not feel major donors would stop supporting the charity if they left the country because of financial or political fears.
“For 220 years our major donors have always been there for us, even in the most difficult periods, and we hope that they will continue to do so,” she said.
The Fed in Manchester said that since the Brexit referendum, record numbers of nurses and midwives from EU27 countries had left Britain.
Mark Cunningham, chief executive of the welfare charity, said: “The reduction in nurses has a direct impact on charities like us who rely on them to provide social care. The NHS and local councils are two of our largest customers.”
Mr Cunningham said he was less concerned over donors pulling their money out of the country: “We need to raise £1.2million a year to deliver services that are not funded by the NHS [but] I have not heard from any donors saying they would not fund us due to Brexit.”
Michael Wegier, UJIA chief executive, said the charity was most concerned about the strength of the pound because much of the money it raises is spent on projects in Israel.
“If the pound is weak, by definition that means we can do less.
“It also means summer tours are more expensive and less people are likely to be able to afford it.”
Simon Johnson, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said that “as a community we need to work collaboratively to reduce our costs”, irrespective of Brexit.
“We have a perpetual issue whereby 80 per cent of our funding for our charities is coming from the same small collection of foundations.
“Any change in the economy is likely to have an impact on that but the problem is a sustainability issue.”
He said charities in the community with a dual purpose could alleviate funding concerns by sharing costs and merging parts of their business.
Stuart MacDonald, treasurer of the Board of Deputies, took a more cautious approach.
“While some of the doomsday scenarios people fear may be overblown, we certainly cannot be complacent,” he said.
“The loss of major donors due to political or economic uncertainties would have a substantial knock-on on our community’s ability to run the high-quality services at the levels we do.
“Indeed, a weak economy would have impacts across levels of giving and funding for services.”
He said it was important for communal organisation to “continue to advocate hard for a society and political climate which is good for all Jews — and good for the UK as a whole.”
WHAT IMPACT will Brexit — assuming it occurs — have on the British Jewish community? It is striking how limited any discussion of this issue has been.
At Limmud, there was no shortage of panels and lectures on antisemitism, Corbyn, Israel and related issues, but Brexit barely featured. Umbrella bodies such as the Board and JLC have not issued briefing documents or held events that engage seriously with what Brexit will mean.
Moves by British Jews to obtain German passports have attracted media attention, but stories about the effect of Brexit on the Jewish community have been far from normative. Indeed, insofar as we have evidence of how British Jews voted in the 2016 referendum, it is likely along the lines of class, education and location, rather than Jewishness.
This general lack of Jewish engagement may turn out to be a serious mistake. Even if you put aside questions about the relationship between Brexit and antisemitism or questions about how British Jews relate to European Jews, Brexit is likely to pose significant challenges to Jewish life in Britain.
Any Brexit deal, however ‘soft’, is likely to negatively impact on Britain’s economic performance, at least in the short term. A no-deal Brexit, or something close to it, could lead to economic consequences that will reverberate for years. We need to think hard about how will we be able to support our communal bodies. This question becomes all the more acute when you factor in the impact of possible public spending cuts on schools, old-age homes and social services — and the likelihood that more and more Jews will have need of their services.
Then there are the consequences of the pound becoming even weaker. We already have multiple charities sending money to Israel. We will have to ask ourselves some searching questions as to whether it is appropriate to continue to raise huge sums in pounds, with ever diminishing shekel returns, to support institutions in a country with a booming economy. Would it be right for charities supporting needy British Jews to cut the support they offer because of other charities fundraising in order to send decreasing funds to a less-needy Israel?
We need to stress-test the British Jewish communal economy and find ways to ensure its resilience into the longterm. Whatever Brexit holds, we will experience it as Jews as well as British citizens, and we must consider what this will mean.
If the pound is weak, that means by definition we can do less
Dr Keith Kahn-Harris is a senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College and a fellow of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research. He writes here in a personal capacity.