Belsize Square Synagogue has won an important planning victory to allow it to extend the boundaries of its existing cemetery and provide for the future needs of its community.

First, the good news: the Redevelopment Fund has reached the £1m mark.  A great achievement but now we need to complete the last lap.

You can put away your running shoes for now: the Fun Run has been postponed until next spring. We are rethinking how best to involve the wider community and particularly to engage all the Cheder Families.

In the meantime there are many ways you can support the project including A Seat to Remember. For a donation of £160 per chair, a small, discreet plaque with a simple inscription will be placed on the back of one of the Synagogue chairs. There is no better way to celebrate a special occasion or to remember a loved one.

This week the Israeli Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee voted 5 to 4 in support of a private amendment drafted by MK David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu (the party headed by Secretary of State Avigdor Liberman) to assign authority on matters of conversion in Israel to the Orthodox establishment.  If this legislation passes the second or third votes it will abolish the status quo - created through years of sweat, tears and achievements - that allows Reform and Conservative Rabbis in Israel to convert and accepts Reform and Conservative converts from around the world to come to Israel and be recognized as Jews.

For further information and to voice your protest, please visit Arzenu or IRAC.

From book groups to birthday visits, lunch groups to 'Square Meals': Community Care Coordinator Dorothy White gives an insight into community care at Belsize Square Synagogue.