PRESS RELEASE
On Sunday 5th October, 31 children of bar and batmitzvah age attended “Goin’ Back to Your Roots”. This was the first of three sessions being run by Leeds Jewish Representative Council as part of their “Welcome to the Community” project and was a great success. The children, from across the community’s spectrum, hopped on board a coach that took them back to where the Jews lived when they first came to Leeds. They heard Robert Bartfield explain how Jews escaping Czarist Russia ended up in Leeds, and the life that they made for themselves. Moving up to Chapeltown, they were held in rapt attention as Michael Lee described what it was like to live, go to school and grow up there. Not only did the attendees learn about the history of Leeds but the roots of the community, as it is today, were brought vividly to life. They were then treated to shwarma, sausage and chips at Leeds’ very own community centre!
The “Welcome to the Community” project is designed to help bar/batmitzvah children feel a warm and valued part of our community. The children not only learn about community life, its institutions and its history; but get to socialise and form friendships with other children of the same age across congregational boundaries. This first session was judged to be a great success with positive comments from children and parents alike. It was the first time that such an event, organised by community development worker Neil Clarke, has ever been run. There is a great anticipation for the next session.
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