Board commits £100,000 for the regions

The Board of Deputies has said it is ring-fencing £100,000 of its budget for the regions.

Treasurer Ben Crowne made the announcement at the Board’s first regional plenary meeting since Covid, held at the Manchester Maccabi centre.

President Rosenberg and the new honorary officer team have prioritised engagement with the regions as part of their Board plan for the next triennium, with the Rosenberg having already made 13 regional visits since taking up the post in June.

Before the meeting, he had spent Shabbat in South Manchester, visiting the Yeshurun, Menorah and Bowdon synagogues.

Upcoming regional visits include Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Following the meeting, which was addressed by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, President Phil Rosenberg said: “I am delighted that we are fulfilling our commitment to the regions by being a truly national organisation, offering genuine support in cash and kind.

“We are not the Board of Deputies of London Jews. We are the Board of Deputies of British Jews, as our dynamic programme, including this weekend in Manchester, is showing.”

Twenty per cent of the Board’s staff are now based in Manchester, giving it one of the biggest presences of any national organisation in the city, according to the Board.

The meeting held a minute’s silence in honour of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who was found murdered in the United Arab Emirates.