Please contact the office at BHC on 01202  557433 for further information and tickets.

A healthy crowd drawn from all reaches of Bournemouth's Jewish community braved inclement weather conditions on Wednesday 31 January 2018 for the annual Tu Bishvat tree-planting ceremony organised by BJRC. The tree was planted in the grounds of Hannah Levy House, a Jewish care home that has served Bournemouth since 1956. BJRC committee member, Jonathan Kay, conducted the ceremony along with  the Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Lawrence Williams, who expressed his delight at being a part of the annual event. Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz explained the significance of Tu Bishvat as the "new year for trees" and added that, like the tree, people must grow to overcome the challenges they face in their daily lives.

Chanukah brought light to Bournemouth's Town Hall on Monday 18 December, as His Worshipful the Mayor and Mayoress of Bournemouth invited a cross-section of the town's Jewry to take part in the annual Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony in the Mayor's Parlour. Chair of BJRC Greg Rubins paid tribute to the Mayor and Mayoress for once again hosting this delightful event and acknowledged that incumbent Mayor, Councillor Lawrence Williams, was in fact instrumental in starting the initiative some years ago. Rabbis from the Reform, Orthodox and Lubavitch communities led attendees in prayer and between them explained the deep meaning behind lighting the Chanukiyah.

Bournemouth got into the spirit of Mitzvah Day on Sunday 19 November with an outpouring of generosity targeted at Bournemouth’s needy and homeless. The reform, orthodox and liberal communities took part in a joint collection of food and other useful items to donate for this worthwhile cause. Elsewhere local children got involved in craft activities, including the making of handmade birthday cards for local nursing home residents. One participant commented that "the community’s enthusiastic participation in these causes demonstrates the collective power of Bournemouth’s Jews to make a significant, positive contribution to the local community".

All members of the local community are invited to a live link to Simon Schama's lecture on the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on the 1st November 2017.
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Doors open at 7.30pm at the Menorah Suite, BHC and the live showing begins at 8pm.

​For any further information, please contact BHC - 01202 557443

The new edition of Wessex Jewish News is now published. Please click on the file below to see the contents of the magazine and details of how to subscribe.

Welcome to the new Bournemouth Jewish Representative Council (BJRC) Website. We hope that you find it accessible and easy to use.

We are very happy to provide a record of Community events and so please feel free to contact us with details of any events and photographs that we can publish on the site.

Likewise, along with our Community calender, we are very happy to add details of future Community events in Bournemouth and the wider Wessex Jewish community.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Please note our new e.mail address: bournemouthjrc@gmail.com

Wessex Jewish News, published at least 5 times a year, is the only Jewish cross-community publication in our area. It is totally independent, having no allegiance to any particular synagogue, religious organisation or group. Whether you want light entertainment, serious discussions, historical articles, topical reports, you will find all this and more in WJN.

You can have an all editions delivered to your home – just send a cheque for £10, made payable to:  Wessex Jewish News, to WJN,  60 Keverstone Court, Bournemouth BH1 3BY.

Alternatively, you can pay by standing order to:  Wessex Jewish News -
Sort Code – 51 81 18  Ac no –  71248641.

Please advise edwjn@onetel.com or telephone Alan Kneller on 01202 394386 once set up.

The last published front cover and editorial are set out below