Meet Hila – our New Administrator

Hila Levi has recently assumed the role of IJC administrator from Golan who has stepped down. She is a familiar face to some, less well known by others..

Born and raised in Israel, Hila only came to Judaism and to the IJC when she followed her heart. She had met her now fiancé Sarah about three years ago in Belgium. Sarah had escaped Saudi Arabia and settled in Belgium and until recently they had a long distance relationship as Hila was still in Israel. Hila moved here a few months ago.

When October 7 happened, Sarah was conflicted about Islam and started to explore communities in Belgium who could offer her a new path. From the moment Hila and Sarah stepped foot into IJC, they fell in love with it. Says Hila: ‘I only knew the Orthodox Yemeni environment in Israel and, being a lesbian, this was a Judaism that I could not accept and nor could they accept me. I had never been close to my Jewishness in Israel. But at IJC I found there were more ways to identify with Judaism than I had realized. There was immediate acceptance of us and it was very healing.’ Sarah is now in the Giur class and in parallel, Hila’s ‘conversion’ is, if you like, an emotional one.

Soon Hila wanted to find a way to get more involved in IJC. With a social services background from Israel, she was in charge there  of seven daycare centers for at-risk children and so brings pragmatic skills to her new role.  But she certainly never thought she would work for a synagogue!

Hila is currently responsible for security and the email side of our administration. She says: ‘I want IJC to remain a warm and comforting place and to help it grow. We need to broaden the circle of volunteers and of active involvement in the community which I hope to help make happen.’ In the meantime her family in Israel miss her but support her new life in Belgium.

As some of you may have seen, Hila also brings warmth to IJC with her lovely guitar playing. She loves music and it shows!