Board to Board
THE president and CEO of the Board of Deputies of British Jews will be guest speakers at an unprecedented plenum of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies this month.
Gillian Merron
To be held by Zoom on Wednesday May 20 at 7.30pm, the plenum will feature Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl and CEO Gillian Merron.
The entire Jewish community is invited to participate in the meeting, and all who wish to do so should email ydele@nswjbd.com and a Zoom link will be sent to them.
Elected president two years ago, Van der Zyl was recently ranked among the 40 most Influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post. She led the negotiations which resulted in the United Kingdom adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and has been active in promoting interfaith relations across the British community.
She played a leading role in the high-profile campaign against antisemitism within the UK Labour Party, and is a solicitor in her private life, specialising in employment law.
Marie van der Zyl
Merron joined the Board of Deputies of British Jews as CEO six years ago after serving as Minister of State for Public Health in the British Foreign Office.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Lesli Berger: “This is a unique opportunity to hear from the leadership of the British Jewish community, which has undergone very challenging times in recent months, not least during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of UK Labour and having to respond to the toxic presence of antisemitism within the party. The fact that our plenum meeting will be held by Zoom makes it possible for more members of the community than usual to participate, and we encourage as many as possible to do so.”
Van der Zyl and Merron will be co-hosted by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
