Scottish Council of Jewish Communities

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) is the representative body of all the Jewish communities in Scotland.

The Council is registered as a Charity (Scottish Charity Number SCO29438), and its charitable activities include educating the public about Judaism and the Jewish Community; the promotion of religious and racial harmony; community development (including civic responsibility, volunteering, and the voluntary sector); and the advancement of heritage, and culture. In particular, it seeks to advance public understanding about the Jewish religion, culture and community, and it develops and provides information and assistance to educational, health and welfare organisations. SCoJeC also works in partnership with other organisations and stakeholders to promote good relations and understanding among community groups and to promote equality. In furtherance of that end, it represents the Jewish community in Scotland to government and other statutory and official bodies, monitors the Scottish Parliament and liaises with MSPs and others on matters affecting the Jewish community.

SCoJeC consists of representatives of all the Jewish communities in Scotland – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee as well as two looser groups – the Jewish Network of Argyll and the Highlands, and Jewish students studying in Scottish universities and colleges. It also consults as appropriate with the leadership of the orthodox, reform and liberal communities, and with the management of relevant communal organisations on matters that affect them such as welfare, charity law, education and youth work. This representative democratic structure enables it to speak authoritatively in the name of the whole Community to government, parliament, churches, trades unions, the media, etc.

Its activities include:
Representing the Jewish community in Scotland to government and other statutory and official bodies:
• monitoring the Scottish Parliament and Executive on a daily basis;
• regular formal and informal contact with Ministers, MSPs and civil servants;
• responding to official consultations that affect the Community, including Family Law, Charity Law, the census, shechitah, equalities, medical
matters, antisemitism, and child protection;
• representation on the Scottish Boards of the Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission,
BEMIS (the Ethnic Minority infrastructure body), Inter Faith Council, Policy Officers Network, and the Scottish Human Rights Coalition;
• membership of the Scottish Executive’s Faith Liaison Group;
• regular meetings with senior officers and officials of the Church of Scotland and the STUC;
• organising occasional high profile events such as the Chief Rabbi’s visit to the Parliament.

Working in partnership with other organisations to promote good relations amongst community groups and to promote equality:
This includes collaboration with the Scottish Executive and BEMIS on a variety of projects including MEMO (Minority Ethnic Matters Overview) a weekly electronic bulletin of information of interest to minority ethnic communities and MEMO+ a new series of briefing papers.

Providing services to all of Scotland’s Jewish communities:
• organising briefings on current issues for communal professionals and others. Topics have included new health legislation, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, child protection, women’s issues, and briefings for teenagers on antisemitism;
• processing Disclosure applications for most voluntary organisations (including all the youth groups, synagogues and educational organisations) as well as the Scottish Inter Faith Council;
• providing information to communal organisations on developing issues such as exemption from water rates, regulation of burial societies, and employment legislation;
• responding to general enquiries from local authorities, potential visitors and others, ranging from the location of synagogues and kosher facilities, to Jewish wedding music for bagpipes.

Supporting the smaller Scottish Jewish communities by:
• publishing a quarterly newsletter, Four Corners, to provide information about events and activities across Scotland;
• facilitating social and educational events in remote venues such as Lochgilphead and Oban;
• responding to requests from rural local authorities, NHS boards, schools, police forces, etc;
• bringing Scottish issues to the attention of relevant organisations such as the Board of Deputies, the Office of the Chief Rabbi, the Israeli Embassy, Shechitah UK and the Community Security Trust.

SCoJeC has also produced an online "Guide to Jewish Facilities in Scotland", and "Scotland's Jews, A Guide to the History and Community of the Jews in Scotland".

External Links:

Scottish Council of Jewish Communities [http://www.scojec.org/index.html]
Four Corners [http://www.scojec.org/Four_Corners/Four_Corners.html]
Guide to Jewish Facilities in Scotland [http://www.scojec.org/Communities/Guidebook.pdf]
Scotland's Jews [http://www.scojec.org/resources/files/scotlands_jews.pdf]
MEMO [http://www.scojec.org/MEMO/MEMO_2008.html]
MEMO+ [http://www.scojec.org/MEMO+/MEMO+.html]