The Board of Deputies is compiling a living archive which will show future generations how the Jewish community lived through the 2020 Coronavirus emergency.
The organisation is appealing to members of the community to send them by email, the notices sent out by religious authorities, by synagogues, kosher shops and Jewish cultural and social organisations, in response to the current pandemic.This will form a part of the the new project ‘Hidden Treasures: celebrating Jewish archives in Britain’, which is launching this year.
Vice President Edwin Shuker said: ‘This initiative will make for a valuable resource for social historians of the future showing the Jewish community’s response in 2020. We appeal to everyone to help us compile this important archive.’
The Board of Deputies has responded to the crisis by issuing a ‘Can I help?’ card; by launching appeals for volunteers, by creating an online information campaign to support Government messages and by working with other communities for the benefit of Jews living in the UK. The Board of Deputies is also tracking the progress of the virus in the Jewish community by collating and updating death statistiics.
If you have resources you can share please send to dawn.waterman@bod.org.uk