BPS - Birmingham Progressive Synagogue

08/05/2025

🕍 Birmingham Progressive Synagogue is hiring a Part Time Synagogue Administrator

Are you a friendly, organised, and proactive individual who thrives in a community-focused environment? Join us at Birmingham Progressive Synagogue as our Part-Time Synagogue Administrator.

🕒 Hours: 16 hours per week (specific times negotiable)

💷 Salary: £15,000 per annum

✍️ How to Apply:
FULL Job Description & Application form on website:
https://bpsjudaism.com/news/office-administrator-role

📅 Closing Date: Friday 23rd May 2025

Birmingham Progressive Synagogue. Liberal Judaism - The dynamic, cutting edge of modern Judaism

01/05/2025

🎉 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙚’𝙨 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 (𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨) 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚! 🎉

We’ve got prime time news! Our very own 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙨—a beloved pillar of our community—is appearing on the 𝘽𝘽𝘾 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 this 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 4𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙩 8𝙥𝙢!

And here’s the best part… Jake is celebrating his 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮 this year—yes, the big one-oh-oh! So in the year he officially qualifies as an antique, he’s heading to the Roadshow.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢?
𝙄𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙙?! 👀
You’ll have to tune in to find out…

📺 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 4𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙖𝙮 | 8𝙥𝙢 | 𝘽𝘽𝘾 𝙊𝙣𝙚

Let’s all cheer Jake on—he’s a true community gem, and now, a TV star too! 🌟

21/02/2025

Tonight we pray for our brothers and sisters.

21/02/2025

There are no words to express the heartbreak. Bring Shiri home.

31/01/2025

There are no words that can express how our hearts feel watching the reunion of these 5 young women.

The four women released last week including Karina Ariev were devastated having to leave their friend, Agam Berger, behind.

This is the moment they were all brought back together.

The girls from Nahal Oz are reunited once again, when Agam Berger was released and met Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag who were rel...

31/01/2025

27/01/2025

Karina was reunited with her family on Saturday 25th January 2025, after spending 477 days in captivity as a hostage of Hamas. This was the statement given by Karina's family to The Times of Israel:

“Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude and happiness. After 477 long and harrowing days of pain, worry and endless anxiety, we were finally able to hug our beloved Karina, hear her voice, and see her smile that fills us with light again,” the family says in a statement.

“Our Karina is a symbol of courage, strength of heart and determination, and we are proud of her beyond words,” the family says, thanking everyone who has supported them over the past 15 months.

“At the same time, our hearts are with the family of [hostage] Agam Berger and the other women who are still waiting for their miracle,” the Arievs say. “We will not be silent and will not rest until each and every one of them returns home.”

As we celebrate the return of Karina, we also continue to pray for the safe return of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

14/01/2025

Ruth was 15 years old when her parents sent her to England in 1936, to escape from N**i Germany. A Christian family took her in and later sponsored her parents to escape to the UK too in 1939.

Ruth, now 103, tells her story: ‘My father was interned as an ‘enemy alien’ for a full year. He was released in 1940 and allowed to work. He found a job in a large department store in Oxford selling black-out material. When a new nun joined the local convent, they would ask Mr Cohen for black-out material for their uniforms. In return the nuns would occasionally bring butter from their trips back home to Ireland!

My father encouraged me to get proper training and qualifications for work. Women refugees could only work as domestic servants or train as a nurse. I was accepted at Birmingham Hospital and found the four-year nursing training an incredibly happy time, making friends for life.’

All her working life, Ruth was a nurse. ‘I enjoyed my different nursing roles, especially in the 1970’s when I worked as the employees’ nurse at the Town Hall. We were a medical team from different faiths and cultures, but the respect we had for one another was so strong.

In the last year of my training, I met my husband Heinz and married in 1948. Together we built a family home focusing on being active in our Jewish lives and ensuring we worked with people of different faiths in making the world a better place.’

14/01/2025

Eve* was forced to leave her homeland, Turkey, due to political oppression and persecution. Life had become unbearable. Despite being a dedicated hospital doctor, Eve faced imprisonment simply for her political views and for disagreeing with the government.Eve and her family had no choice but to flee. They found refuge in the UK. Once here, Eve spent two years studying to pass medical exams necessary to practise in the UK.

Eve reflects: ‘I could never have imagined that persecution of people for their beliefs or minority groups in Turkey would reach such horrific levels, nor did I ever think I would become a refugee. But today, like millions of others, I am one. Now I understand their struggles more deeply.’Today, Eve works full-time as a paediatrician at a Birmingham hospital. Although she misses Turkey dearly, she finds comfort and happiness in the life she has rebuilt in the UK, working in a place where she is free and safe, knowing that her beliefs will never make her a target again.

*name changed

14/01/2025

Liudmila and her two young daughters came to the UK from Ukraine when Russia invaded in 2022. Her husband Aleksandr joined them a year later. While he learned English, Aleksandr worked as a handyman and repairing laptops. Now he is a customer manager in a local business. Liudmila’s younger daughter is settled at school, and her older daughter is studying at university.

Liudmila is employed by Kryla (Wings), a community organisation offering all kinds of help for refugees, including support to set up small businesses. ‘Lots of Ukrainian women are wonderful cooks and bakers. They are keen to open bakeries or cafés to sell their delicious sweets, cakes and puddings,’ she says.

14/01/2025

Ahmad graduated as an electrical engineer in Pakistan. He arrived in the UK in 2021 and applied for asylum. After a year he was allowed to apply for permission to work. He was lucky that engineering was on the shortage occupation list, and he found some work as a fibre optics engineer. Breaking Barriers, a charity supporting refugees into work, helped him with interview skills and job applications for his next job, and now he is on a graduate scheme at a process automation company, with ambitious work plans ahead.

Adapted from:

Breaking Barriers Impact Report F2023-2024 https://breaking-barriers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Breaking-Barriers-Impact-Report-FY2023-2024.pdf