Our Mission

Kehillah’s Racial Justice Group was formed in 2020 as a reaction to the death of George Floyd and worldwide protests for racial justice. We are a politically and racially diverse group of Kehillah members. All members of Kehillah are welcome to join our meetings, which are held every two months, sometimes in person and sometimes over Zoom.

In our meetings, the Racial Justice Group uses the tools of Torah – using Jewish texts to discuss racial justice; Teshuva – reflecting on what we can do better; and Action – committing to practical actions and plans for change.

We envision a community where everyone feels supported and empowered to fully be themselves. We envision a community where the full diversity of Jewishness is recognised and celebrated. We envision a community that contributes to ending racism.

Our Goals

• Promote inclusion and celebrate the diversity of our kehillah and Judaism as a whole

• Be a Jewish voice to fight for equality and Justice

• Strengthen Kehillah’s relationships with other communities

• Offer solidarity to those suffering from racial discrimination

• Work in solidarity with broader social justice movements

• Diversify our understanding and practice of Jewish identity, religion and culture

• Educate about the effects of empire and colonialism to better understand racism

• Advocate for refugee and migrant justice

• End racism and antisemitism

Our Impact

In recent years the Racial Justice Group has paired learning with visible action. We published an Israel–Palestine open letter, set clear community standards with a code of conduct and a transparent route for raising concerns, and kept the conversation public with a racial-justice lens. We showed up locally, from a CopWatch session on the history of policing to the Child Q demonstration in Hackney, and stood with Sistah Space after the Buckingham Palace incident. We backed culture and access by helping the campaign to save New Beacon Books and led from the bimah with a racial justice themed service. Our learning programme has been wide ranging, including Joseph Finlay on Black and Jewish relations in twentieth-century Britain, sessions on Jewish communities in Ghana and Singapore, and a statement during a previous escalation in Gaza, and we have built real partnerships through joint events with Muslim Welfare House, collaboration with the Inclusive Mosque Initiative, and co-hosting Fehinti Balogun and Complicité on climate and racial justice. We also shared practice with synagogues in Birmingham and Sheffield, spoke on a Limmud panel, supported a cross-UK all-Black-led Kabbalat Shabbat hosted by Kehillah, and initiated Black History Month divrei Torah and events. This work continues, and we welcome members to join us as we keep learning, showing up, and turning values into action.