We started slowly. Of the sixty seats we had put out, about twenty were occupied, and for a while it looked as though everyone would have the luxury of a little extra space. Then people kept arriving. We added a row of chairs, then another, and eventually ran out of siddurim. It was a wonderful way to bring our High Holy Day season to a close, celebrating Simchat Torah with our sister community, Beth Hillel. Torah scrolls from both communities were carried around the room as

For the fourth year in a row, our pop-up synagogue is where we gathered to welcome another Jewish year. The same ingredients: the same rabbi, the same chazan, the same familiar prayers and the same deeply prayerful atmosphere. There is something quite amazing about the way a temporary space can acquire such a strong sense of belonging. Once the prayers begin and the voices rise together, the room becomes part of our Jewish story. Many new faces New this year were the many vis

At Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre this year, IJC member David S. gave us his reasons for giving. His words stayed with many of us, so we want to share them with the whole community: Giving one’s time as a volunteer is the heart of IJC, but time doesn't pay the rent. Our volunteers lead, lein, teach, organize food and events, and welcome. But volunteer hours don't cover the rent or the salaries that keep the IJC going. We need money too. You don't know what you've got till it's g

Jan Oversteyns and Peter Goldfein repairing our portable ark This year saw a record number of attendees at all four of IJC’s High Holiday services. We were delighted to see 26 new faces among our attendees and we hope to have many of them join the IJC. There were 130 people who stayed for the Rosh Hashanah lunch (big thank you to Mark Silverstein for arranging the delicious buffet that included his homemade rugelach). And we hosted 52 people for the catered break-the-fast mea

Emma Lazarus is best known for her sonnet The New Colossus which was inspired by the Statue of Liberty. Lines from this work are inscribed on a bronze plaque installed on the Statue’s pedestal in 1903. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…Send these the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door”. What is less known is that she was involved in aiding refugees who had fled antisemitic pogroms in Eastern Europe.

It is that time of year again for the IJC High Holidays Appeal. Each year, the IJC sets a fundraising goal to help make the IJC a cherished place for everyone. Our goal last year was to raise €20,000. Sarah Wheaton gave our Appeal Testimony, sharing some of her Jewish history, her involvement with the Religious Affairs Committee, and what the IJC means to her. Our members enthusiastically rose to the challenge, and we reached our goal. The Board, Rabbi Brian, and all those

Jonathan Joppe started teaching at the Hebrew School in Sept 2021. Before that, he had already shared his skills as a storyteller and puppet performer with the community. He once performed the story of the Golem for example. From the very beginning he wanted to develop his own lessons. Being a storyteller, these lessons were illustrated with stories from beginning to end. His main subject was teaching Jewish values. He talked with the older children about forgiveness, sharing

Monument to the memory of Rabbi Lustig and to all the Ghent victims of the Shoah. Does the fact that a Jodenstraat (Jewish street) exists indicate the possible presence of a Jewish community in Ghent? There are some written sources dating from the Middle Ages that point to the presence of Jews in the city. As Ghent was at that time one of the most important cities in Western Europe, it is likely that Jews came to Flanders for economic reasons. Unfortunately, no details of the

Reflection, Renewal, Community.. The High Holidays are fast approaching! We warmly invite both members and non-members to join us in welcoming the year 5787. 📅 Service Schedule ● Rosh Hashanah: ○ Friday evening, September 11, 2026 ○ Saturday morning, September 12, 2026 (including children’s activities and followed by a festive community lunch) ● Yom Kippur: ○ Sunday evening, September 20, 2026 ○ All day Monday, September 21, 2026 (followed by a

Steve Brummel, our venerated President Emeritus, was in the Czech Republic this month. He sat for an interview at the Brummel House in Pilsen, as Prague TV is making a documentary about the influential Austrian/Czech architect Adolf Loos. Loos designed and supervised the construction of the Brummel House in 1927-28. Exactly 50 years later, Steve had orchestrated the Brummel House's salvation from destruction at the hands of the Communist city authorities. Steve was intervi

Last Shabbat, some twenty IJC members, old and new, gathered at a former abbey in the Flemish countryside for our community retreat, Rest in a Restless World, our third retreat at this location. As people arrived throughout Friday afternoon and early evening, there was a palpable sense of anticipation. Some came for the entire Shabbaton, others for part of the programme, and all brought with them the invisible luggage we carry through our busy lives: commitments, responsibili

George Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé, was the creator of one of the best-known strip cartoon figures, Tintin (Kuifje). Titles of his early work about the adventures of the boy reporter and his dog Snowy (Milou) included Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, Tintin in the Congo and Tintin in America. These were described as conservative propaganda for children. So how racist was Hergé? Following the German occupation of Belgium in 1940, the conservative Catholic newspaper

IMPAC’s Vision for Coexistence and the Fight Against Antisemitism By Nigel Goodrich I am often asked how we champion dialogue between communities while firmly opposing extremism. For progressive Jews valuing both shalom and the battle against antisemitism, this question is at the heart of our work. IMPAC was founded in 2019 by Patricia Teitelbaum and me. As an international NGO, we advance human rights, social justice, freedom of religion or belief, tolerance, and mutual unde

Says Golan T ---On Sunday, June 7, some IJC friends and I spent the morning at the Japanese Garden in Hasselt. We wandered past ponds, bridges, tiny shrines and traditional buildings, discovered the elegant koto (a traditional Japanese floor harp), and admired the reflections dancing on the water. Sarah S. on the highlights: ‘the koi carp were enormous, and one of the funniest moments was watching a duck casually walk across a group of them as if they were floating stepping s

One of the great privileges of rabbinic life is accompanying people on meaningful Jewish journeys and witnessing the sincerity, courage, and commitment that those journeys require. In recent weeks, I had the pleasure of accompanying two new members of our community, Zoé Toussaint and Lev Klisurov, as they prepared to appear before the Kerem Beth Din for recognition of their giur journeys. These were moving moments, not only for Zoé and Lev personally, but also for our wider I

A recently published book by Natalie Livingstone entitled “The Nuremberg Women” highlights the role played by women during and after the Nuremberg trials, a role, apart from female interpreters and reporters such as Rebecca West and Erika Mann, that has been underplayed and even suppressed. With her book, the author, grand-daughter of Holocaust survivors, tries to set the record straight and speaks about the many women whose contribution has been deliberately overlooked. One

By Diana K --- “Six million is just a number. Here I want to give a voice to two people who perished in the Shoah, my grandparents, Max and Trude Hahn.” This is how I start my presentations to high school students at the Hainberg Gymnasium in Göttingen, the school my mother was expelled from shortly after her 16th birthday in spring 1938. This was my second visit to the school. Thanks to the foresight of my grandparents who sent many documents and belongings to Sweden and Sw

Rachel and Stephany A couple of years ago I asked the children at the end of the Hebrew school year what they liked most about the past year, and without hesitation they answered “Matzah baking.” From then on, I try it every year. But honestly, I dread working with the ovens at BH and I have skipped a year sometimes. This time we were able to buy a little electric oven, and although it is small, it does the trick, and I do not have to worry about blowing up the building. Now

Most of us nowadays associate the island of Lampedusa with the major entry point for Mediterranean migrants. But not many people are aware of the Jewish connection to the island. In June 1943, Sergeant Sydney Cohen, an RAF pilot, unwittingly captured the island of Lampedusa, 200 km south of Sicily. He then accepted the surrender of a garrison of 4,300 Italian troops. Cohen, who had been a tailor’s assistant in the East End of London, joined the RAF in 1941 and was sent t

In spite of – or perhaps because of – the current geopolitical tensions, this year’s IJC Seder brought together a record number of participants: close to 90 people around multiple tables. It was especially heartening to welcome so many new faces, alongside wonderful interfaith guests who joined us in a spirit of curiosity and connection. There was a real sense of community in the room – familiar faces, new friendships forming, and a shared willingness to enter the story toget