Rabbi James Kennard (born 24 June 1964) is an educationalist in the Australian Jewish community. He was previously headteacher of

King Solomon High School King Solomon High School is a Modern Orthodox Judaism comprehensive school located in Barkingside, Greater London, England. It was opened in 1993 by its first headmaster, Mr Alastair Falk. In March 2007, it was announced that Spencer Lewis would ...

in Barkingside, London, and since 2007, is principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College..

Early life and education

Kennard was born 24 June 1964. He was educated at St Paul's School in London and read mathematics at New College, Oxford. While at Oxford in 1984, he took part in British televised quiz-show University Challenge. He received rabbinic ordination in Israel in 1989.

Career

From 1994 until 2004 he was the founding head of Jewish Studies, and subsequently head of Yavneh, a division of the King David High School in Manchester, England. Between 1998 and 2004, he was headteacher of Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School in Manchester. From September 2004 to December 2006, James Kennard served as the Headteacher of

, Barkingside, London. In January 2007 he took up the position as principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College in Melbourne,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He has contributed articles to '' The Age'', ''

Jewish News The ''Jewish News'' is a free weekly newspaper, established in 1997, that serves the Jewish communities of Greater London – specifically Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Essex. In 2002, it won the ''Press Gazette'' free newspaper of the year. In F ...

'', ''

Australian Jewish News ''The Australian Jewish News'' (''AJN'') is a newspaper published in Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Since 2019 it has been a local partner of ''The Times of Israel''. History The ''AJN'' is descended from ''The Hebrew Stand ...

'', and the London ''

Jewish Chronicle Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

'', and has appeared on BBC radio and TV. When in Australia he was a member of the

Rabbinical Council of Victoria The Rabbinical Council of Victoria is a body representing the state's Orthodox rabbis. It was established in 1967. Its primary goals are to provide professional development to its member rabbis, to enhance community participation among members of th ...

for a period of time, serving on the executive, although he resigned this position because of his view of rabbinic failure.

Public efforts

Kennard is a frequent critic of the rabbinic institutions in Australia. He called for the resignations of the heads of the Yeshiva Centre and the rabbis connected to abuse in the religious community. When the members of the Sydney Beth Din, including

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and

Yehoram Ulman Yehoram Ulman is a rabbi in Sydney, Australia. He was born in Leningrad, USSR in 1964. He holds a number of senior positions in the Orthodox Jewish community. Activities FREE - Chabad of Bondi Ulman is the Rabbi of Friends of Refugees of Easter ...

, were found guilty of contempt of court Kennard was the only high profile rabbinic figure to speak against them. He said "I cannot remain silent when the rabbinate of Australia is prevented from fulfilling its primary task – to provide religious leadership to our community – by the refusal of its representatives to act with the highest standards of integrity, which should be the natural hallmark of any who bear the title ‘rabbi’."

References

External links

RabbiKennard.com

Mount Scopus Memorial College
1964 births British Orthodox rabbis Australian Orthodox rabbis Alumni of New College, Oxford Living people Contestants on University Challenge Australian Jews Orthodox rabbis {{edu-bio-stub