JLC chair: ‘Merger with Board would be a waste of time’
TWO YEARS AGO on the eve of the pandemic, the question of unification between the Board of Deputies (BoD) and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) was once again being aired in the pages of the JC.
But if there is one thing new JLC chairman Keith Black, 62, is clear about, it is that there will be “absolutely no merger”.
Such a move would be “a colossal waste of time, energy and resource and will have no benefit whatsoever”, he says. “The Board do a great job and we do a completely different job.”
He acknowledges there have been “disagreements” between the two bodies and “some unfortunate situations” in the past. “I think both sides made mistakes and everybody has learned through it.”
He promises to “work really hard to make sure we are always as aligned with the Board as we possibly can.”
He enjoys an “excellent relationship” with the Board’s president, Marie van der Zyl, who by virtue of her office is a trustee of the JLC. “I am a great fan. I think the community is incredibly fortunate to have somebody like Marie who works as hard, is as engaged, is as committed to this community as she is. She is a remarkable servant.”
And as a former chairman of Manchester UJIA, he knows well the Board’s chief executive, Michael Wegier, who was previously professional head of UJIA.
Mr Black was elected unopposed for a three-year term with the umbrella body for 37 communal organisations, after Jonathan Goldstein stepped down midway through his second term.
While boasting a long record of communal service, overseeing the Community Security Trust’s (CST) operations in Manchester for many years, he is a comparative newcomer to the JLC, succeeding Gerald Ronson as the CST’s JLC representative in 2018.
But when asked to consider taking on the chairmanship of the council, “I didn’t think it appropriate to decline”.
Over the past few years, the JLC has consolidated its position within the community, thanks to Mr Goldstein’s prominent role in the fight against antisemitism in the Corbynled Labour Party and its work through the pandemic.
It raised £1.5 million for a social support fund and as the community went virtual, it helped organisations improve their digital reach.
Mr Black says that while it may be too early to start drawing up plans for a post-Covid community, the JLC is conscious that “building back is critical. We have undoubtedly lost a lot through not being able to come together and those strands of connectivity are very valuable. You can’t run a community on Zoom.”
However, one “remarkable” outcome of the past two years has been the fundraising momentum maintained by charities.
“I suspect the donor base of the community has increased substantially.”
Both sides made mistakes and everybody has learned through it