Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue

December 2008

Residential Conference for East Anglia’s Jews

For the first time ever, all the smaller Jewish communities of East Anglia will be joining together at a weekend residential conference. The conference theme will be ‘Israel – 60 Years Young’. It will take place at the comfortable St. Gabriel’s conference centre, close to Bungay on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, over the weekend 12th-14th December.

Apart from engaging with the main topic, sure to provoke plenty of lively debate, participants will have the chance to socialise and to discuss how to meet the challenge of maintaining Jewish life in smaller communities far from the metropolis. We hope that the conference will also involve Jewish servicemen and women based at USAF Mildenhall, who generally have little opportunity of meeting fellow-Jews.

The star speaker will be Eric Moonman – for many years a Labour MP for Basildon and Billericay and now a close observer of the Israeli scene and the prospects for peace – or war. Other speakers will include Dr. Diana Lipton, Lecturer in Bible and Jewish Studies at King’s College, London and Professor Rabbi Marc Saperstein, the Principal of the Leo Baeck College.

Arrangements are being co-ordinated by Rev. Malcolm Weisman, the Chief Rabbi’s minister to the small Jewish communities and Jewish Chaplain to HM Forces. The Conference is being generously supported by SPARKs, the Clore Jewish Development Fund.

Further details and an application form may be obtained from:
Mrs A Neuhaus of the Harlow Synagogue, on 01279-321665.