Our Future Hangs in the Balance — Standing Together for Our Community
11th September
Dear Members and Supporters,
A Community That Cannot Be Divided
Once again, thank you to all who attended Shul for the last two Shabbos services. Your continued support and growing numbers give us great hope for the future — for the future of the Community we are all fighting to protect.
Over six weeks have passed since the Federation refused to attend the court hearing at the London Beth Din. So far, the London Beth Din has not issued a Heter Arka’ot giving us permission to go to the Civil Courts, and the Federation has not declared their position. This leaves us trapped in a procedural deadlock between two of the UK’s most powerful Jewish institutions.
Although the Federation have always refused to discuss and resolve this issue directly with our leadership, they have in the last week attempted to contact our members privately. We find this surprising. Before issuing proceedings at the London Beth Din, we asked in writing on four separate occasions to meet and resolve our differences. Each time we were told the issue was “not up for discussion.” At the Federation Council meeting of 23 March 2025 our representative stated clearly that LaWS wished to resolve the matter through a face-to-face meeting — but the Federation refused.
Contrast our approach with theirs. We have been consistent and transparent in our communications: the Federation has been copied on all communal updates, and we sent them a copy of the Chairman’s Rosh Hashanah message. By contrast, the Federation has chosen to contact members privately, leaving no written trail, avoiding specifics, and merely stating that “we have a very different perspective” without rebutting any of our points.
We have sought to resolve this dispute through the proper forum of the Beth Din. This was the chance for the Federation to state their “very different perspective”. They chose not to, withdrawing one day before the hearing. Now, instead of facing us, they attempt to bypass LaWS leadership by appealing directly to members. This can reasonably be seen as an attempt to divide the community and undermine confidence in the leadership.
We say to the Federation: this will not work. We remain steadfast, united, and undeterred.
Please understand, you are dealing with the Leytonstone Community. A Community forged in the difficult pre-war years of virulent antisemitism, attacked by Fascists, and one that emerged stronger from the war years to build a larger Synagogue. We owe a great debt to that generation. If today’s generation has but a fraction of their strength, resolve and commitment, then we are certain to prevail.
Our grassroots movement is growing — fuelled by the desire to build a warm and welcoming kehilla, to help those most vulnerable among us, and to ensure that Jewish life in Leytonstone continues to flourish for generations to come.
The choices before us are clear. The Federation has declined every request to meet, withdrawn from the Beth Din, and contacted members privately rather than engaging openly. We choose a different path: openness, unity, and strength.
So let us stand together — as the generations before us did — with faith, courage and resolve. Together, we will protect our Shul, safeguard our community, and write the next proud chapter in the history of East London Jewry.
Be on the right side of history. Join us, stand with us, and let us prevail together.
25 August 2025
Dear Members and Supporters,
Community Update — From 1937 to Today: Our Community Stands Strong
Thank you to all who attended Shul for the last two Shabbos services, the kavanah of our davening and the ruach of our community has moved to a new level, as the bright light of Yiddishkeit emanates forth from our determined and committed Kehilla.
On 18th April 1937, Leytonstone and Wanstead Synagogue was attacked by a gang of Mosley’s Blackshirts. The attack shocked the nation and was even discussed in the House of Commons. Our Community responded by building a larger Shul — our current home — on the neighbouring bomb site after the war.
They were not cowed then, and we are not cowed now.
Nearly a month has passed since the Federation refused to attend the court hearing at the London Beth Din and so far the London Beth Din has not issued a Heter Arka’ot, giving us permission to go to the Civil Courts. The Federation have removed our representative from the Federation Council. We believe this is an attempt to deny us a voice and that efforts have been made to isolate us by discouraging other Council members from engaging with us. This will not work, in the words given to Joshua:
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your G-d is with you wherever you go
Many among us once attended Brenthouse Road, Boundary Road, Earlham Grove and Lea Bridge Road — great East London synagogues which are now gone but never forgotten. The Jews of East London know what it is to lose their synagogues and their communities, and today we say: Enough is Enough.
So join our grassroots movement. We simply want to continue doing good, to be a focus for Jewish communal life in our local Community, to continue helping those most in need, to build a warm and welcoming kehilla and to keep the flame of Torah burning in East London.
That flame of Jewish life in East London still burns bright — and with your support, it always will.
11 August 2025
Dear Members and Supporters,
Thank You for Your Support — Community Update
We have all drawn great strength from the huge turnouts and the incredible atmosphere in Shul for the last two Shabbos services, this sends a clear message that we are a thriving, vibrant and determined Kehilla.
The Federation have now doubled down on their position. Their current view is that the only Beth Din they will attend is the Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues. Their own Beth Din. The Beth Din for which the Dayanim are employed by the Federation. A Beth Din where we fear we may not get a fair hearing.
The Federation have also stated that they will now be instructing a law firm to advise them. The Federation claim that the fees they charge are for Head Office functions. They ask their least wealthy and most vulnerable Shul, Leytonstone, to pay eight times more fees than similar Affiliates. Then, rather than supporting us, they instruct lawyers to advise on a dispute with their least wealthy and most vulnerable Shul. I will leave it to you to decide if this is a good use of Communal funds and where the priorities of the Federation lie.
We have asked the London Beth Din to issue a Heter Arka’ot which gives us permission to go to the Civil Courts. We believe the Halachic position is clear, the Federation agreed to attend the London Beth Din, failed to attend the day before and have not suggested a mutually acceptable alternative, therefore a Heter Arka’ot should be issued. The LBD have so far refused to issue a Heter Arka’ot, effectively trapping us into a procedural deadlock, — which, to us, suggests a reluctance to upset the Federation.
We now face a situation where one of the country’s least wealthy and most vulnerable Shuls is caught between the two most powerful Jewish institutions in the UK — the London Beth Din and the Federation of Synagogues — both acting in ways that place our future at risk.
To them, we say this clearly — There will be no surrender.
We stand together as a kehilla with unshakable resolve. We believe in the strength of our community. We believe that HaShem wants there to be a Synagogue in Leytonstone. And we believe that history will look kindly on those who fought to protect it.
Many have asked how they can help. The most powerful way is simple: be here. Join us in shul on Shabbos morning. Let your voice be heard in tefillah, let your presence send a message, and let the sound of our Minyan be the heartbeat of a community that refuses to be silenced.
Together, we will not just survive — we will flourish.
31 July 2025
Dear Members and Supporters,
Thank You for Your Support — Community Update
Thank you to everyone who attended Shul last Shabbos. We can all be proud of the way our community is standing together during this challenging time. The incredible turnout sent a powerful message: we are united as a proud and committed kehilla.
Faced with the strength of our case, the Federation withdrew from the scheduled Din Torah hearing — just one day before it was due to take place — despite having agreed to attend over a month ago. For the past two years, the Federation refused to recognise the existence of our lease, using that position to justify charging us eight times the published rate for other comparable affiliate synagogues. More recently, they went further and denied that the lease existed at all. Yet, ironically, just before the hearing, they cited a clause from the very lease they had previously denied as the basis for their withdrawal.
No one said this would be easy. The Beth Din has given the Federation two weeks to respond substantively, and we now await their reply.
Once again, thank you to all who have written letters of support over the past two weeks. We have been deeply moved by your heartfelt words. With this delay in proceedings, it is not too late to write — let us ensure that every voice is heard.
With gratitude and strength,
24th July 2025
Dear Members and Supporters
Thank You for Your Support — and Please Join Us This Shabbos
I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have already written letters of support for our Community over the past week. Your kind words, encouragement, and heartfelt messages have been deeply moving — and they will help strengthen our case before the London Beis Din (Jewish Court) next week.
If you have not yet had the chance to send a letter, it is not too late. Every voice matters. Please consider sending a short note expressing your support for the future of our Kehilla and the continued Jewish life we have all worked so hard to build here in Leytonstone.
This coming Shabbos Matot–Masei (26 July) is also a critical moment for our Community. We will be dedicating our tefillos and our presence in Shul to the future of Community. Please make every effort to join us in Shul that morning — your presence will send a powerful message that we stand united as a proud and committed kehilla.
Together, let us continue to daven for the success of our efforts and for the flourishing of Jewish life here for generations to come.
Thank you again for standing with us at this pivotal time.
Am Yisrael Chai.
17th July 2025
Dear Members and Supporters
Shabbos Matot – Masei | 26th July 2025, 1st Av 5785
The future of our Community hangs in the balance.
On Shabbos morning, 26th July, we will be dedicating our tefillos and our gathering to the future of our Community. I am asking each and every one of you to make a special effort to attend Shul that morning — to stand with us as we face this critical moment.
Since 2021, the Federation of Synagogues has been imposing fees on our Community that are eight times higher than those charged to all other similar Affiliate synagogues. We believe this is unjust and discriminatory, and it is putting the future of our Community at risk. With ever increasing costs, we simply cannot sustain these excessive charges.
For two years we have sought dialogue and tried to resolve this issue amicably, but the Federation has refused to meet with us and has twice threatened disaffiliation if we do not pay. Disaffiliation would mean losing our Synagogue building — and with it, the heart of Jewish life in Leytonstone.
Earlier this year, the Board of Management and the Rabbi made the difficult but necessary decision to bring this matter before the London Beis Din (Jewish Court). The hearing is scheduled for the week following Shabbos Matot–Masei. The outcome of that hearing will determine the future of our Community.
The future of our Community is in our hands. Now is the time to stand up and show our commitment to a vibrant Jewish life in Leytonstone. Please join us in Shul on Shabbos, 26th July, to help send a clear message that our Community is united and strong. Together, let us pray for the continued flourishing of our Community and for vibrant Jewish life in Leytonstone for generations to come.
Am Yisrael Chai.
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