Join a union, rabbis are advised

Rabbis are being encouraged to join the general union Unite, even if this results in their being represented by a Christian priest or an imam.

Rabbi Daniel Levy, chair of the Rabbinical Council of the Provinces, told the organisation’s half-yearly conference that “a number of rabbis already belong to Unite, and a considerable number have expressed interest in joining”.

In some cases, he said, this was a reaction to “things that have happened to rabbis in London, including losing their jobs”.

But he stressed that the appeal of belonging to a union lay mainly in the “wide range of services it can provide” — from help with examining contracts of employment and updates on employment law to benefits such as cheaper insurance.

The conference in Leeds was also addressed by the Rev Dr Gerry Barlow, a Christian minister and chair of the faith workers’ branch of Unite, on the benefits of union membership.

After the event, Barlow told the Jewish Chronicle: “It was quite clear that many [attendees] had problems with their synagogues at different times, which could have been more easily resolved had we been there. We could stop a lot of the bickering and bullying.”