Rabbi Samuel Landau wrote to the Surrey Comet, calling for friendship, communication and hope from all the communities in Kingston. The letter was written after the governors of a local secondary school went against the teachers’ advice and cancelled its visit to the Kingston, Surbiton and District United Synagogue to take part in the long-established Holocaust Memorial Day Workshop on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Many thousand pupils from Kingston and Elmbridge schools have attended workshops at both KSDS and Kingston Liberal Synagogues for many years, teaching them about the Holocaust, and more recent genocides, and spreading the message of tolerance and not looking the other way. Every year, many primary schools visit both synagogues as part of their Religious Studies, learning about the Jewish faith and traditions. A local primary school has also cancelled its visit to the KSDS. Rabbi Baginsky was interviewed by the paper, explaining that there is no reason to be fearful of being in a Jewish place of worship.
The letter and interview with Rabbis Landau and Baginsky are reproduced here. The article, letter and comments from Surrey Comet readers can be read by clicking here