The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS)
A vibrant, inclusive, diverse and egalitarian community in London. At its core is a belief in social justice and applying Jewish values to living ethical lives within the social, intellectual and environmental realities of the 21st Century. It welcomes Jewish and non-Jewish partners, families & individuals to its hybrid & online services & events.
Social Action
Over the past year, with the pandemic in the background, the synagogue has continued its support of Sufra, a local food bank. It has also joined in campaigns to raise consciousness and to lobby governments to protest against the mistreatment and persecution of the Uyghur community in China.
Closer to home, it held a four part series in conjunction with JCORE (the Jewish Council for Racial Equality) called RACISM: Identifying It, Learning about it, Combatting it. This featured a conversation with Lord Simon Woolley; the Jewish involvement in civil rights movements and Stephen Bush on his role in chairing the Board of Deputies’ Commission investigation into Diversity in the Jewish Community.
Focus on the issue of inclusivity and diversity within the LJS has included Unconscious Bias training for staff, Committee Chairs and Council members, and we are working toward the creation of an LJS policy on Diversity.
In celebration of the diversity within the LJS community, and its roots around the world, Social Action has created the LJS Heritage Trail.
Having registered with Eco Synagogue, the synagogue is working its way through an environmental audit of its building and practices and have supported the Climate Emergency Declaration. The work of the committee is quite wide ranging, and it always welcomes participation in specific areas from anyone in the Community.
Security
In addition to 24-hour CCTV coverage on site, the LJS is also served by a security team for regular services and an additional professional security outfit for larger events. This also includes the private functions as all our events require a security presence.
The LJS has its own security core team headed by a Security Officer. The team consists of members, some of whom have many years experience in synagogue security and have also had thorough training by the CST (Community Security Trust). We also have our own highly experienced in-house security advisor and trainer, all of whom work closely with the CST and the Metropolitan Police.
The team is always looking for more volunteers from the membership.
In addition to 24-hour CCTV coverage on site, the LJS is also served by a security team for regular services and an additional professional security outfit for larger events. This also includes private functions as all events require a security presence.
The LJS has its own security core team headed by a Security Officer. The team consists of members, some of whom have many years experience in synagogue security and have also had thorough training by the CST. The team also has its own highly experienced in-house security advisor and trainer, all of whom work closely with the CST and the Metropolitan Police.