The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region and the Board of Deputies continued their fruitful relationship by taking seven panels of the Board’s Jewish Living Experience Exhibition (JLEE) to Blackburn Cathedral on January 22nd and 23rd.

The excellent relationship that  the JRC and the BoD  have with Sian Howell-Jones, Education Officer at the Cathedral (this is our third visit in a year) led to a request to run a truncated version of the JLEE for a visit of a high school from Leyland. They brought their huge cohort of Year 7 students (aged 11-12) for a tour of the exhibition. They learned about various aspects of Judaism including the synagogue, Shabbat, bar/bat mitzvah and marriage.

Jeremy Michelson, JRC Management Board lead for Education, was supported by a team of excellent JRC volunteers. Sian said “It was great that the young people had a chance to question actual Jewish people and they really enjoyed the experience.”  Jeremy added that “At this time in particular, it is vital that we undermine the ignorance and incomprehension that leads to antisemitism by educating people about our faith and practices.”

In the picture with Jeremy are Jacqui Shapiro, Enid Korn and Mike Williams who are all JRC volunteer educators. The previous day Jeremy was joined by Samantha Hambling, Mandy Williams and Jonathan Davies.