Jonathan Romain
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Jonathan Anidjar Romain (born 24 August 1954) is a writer and broadcaster and director of
Maidenhead Synagogue Maidenhead Synagogue is a Reform synagogue based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It serves Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding districts west of London in the Thames Valley area. History Maidenhead Synagogue originated during Wor ...
in Berkshire, England. He has a PhD in the history of British Jewry. He writes for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
,'' ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', and ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' and appears on radio and television.


Professional career

Romain has been a full-time Tutor at Maidenhead Community Centre since 1980. From 2007 to 2009, he chaired the
Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...
's Assembly of Rabbis. Since January 2015 he has chaired the Movement's
Beth Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a Rabbinic Judaism, rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of ...
. For several years he was one of the judges for both ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' Preacher of the Year competition and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's
Frank Gillard Awards The Frank Gillard Awards are awards for BBC Local Radio stations in the UK. They are named after Frank Gillard who initiated the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio network. The award is a head of Frank Gillard and is given as Gold, Silver and Bronz ...
for religious programmes. He is chaplain to the Jewish Police Association, and until 2018 chaired the
Accord Coalition The Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education is a campaign coalition of civil society groups and individuals which seeks to ensure all state funded schools in England and Wales are made open and suitable for all, regardless of staff, children or the ...
, which he helped found as an alliance of religious and non-religious groups committed to campaigning against religious discrimination in state-funded faith schools. In 2014 he established Inter-faith leaders for Dignity in Dying (IFDiD), an inter-faith group of clergy, now numbering 50 leaders of many religious affiliations who support the aims of
Dignity in Dying Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...
. The group calls for a change in the law that would allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the choice of an having themselves die.


Actions and views

In July 2014, Romain welcomed
Lord Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the Ch ...
's support for the Assisted Dying Bill, describing the former archbishop of Canterbury's intervention in the debate as "a breath of fresh air" and saying that Carey's change of view on the issue showed "it is possible to be both religious and in favour of assisted dying". In 2013, he launched a campaign for recognition of Judaism in China. His perspective on
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
is that marriage should be open to all. He argues that "anyone who takes sacred religious texts literally needs to move on with the times... The Bible is not the literal word of God, but the inspiration of God, as perceived by people of that era and subject to the limitations of the period. It, therefore, has to constantly adapt according to new knowledge and new insights." He supports the legalisation of brothels, referring to
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and pointing out that "it is not for nothing that it rostitutionis known as the oldest profession", adding: "It may be more messianic to want to end the sex trade altogether, but perhaps it is more religious to seek to channel it safely." In 2014, on the issue of women becoming bishops in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
he was quoted as saying: "Women have long been accepted as rabbis and have gone on to occupy positions of religious authority in both major synagogues and Jewish institutions. Those who thought Judaism would collapse when this happened have been proved resoundingly wrong and I am sure the same will be found in the Church."


Honours

In 2003, he was appointed MBE for his pioneering work in helping mixed-faith couples nationally, a theme covered in his book ''Till Faith Us Do Part'' (
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
).


Personal life

He is married to Rabbi
Sybil Sheridan Sybil Ann Sheridan (born 27 September 1953) is a writer and British Reform rabbi. She was chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK at the Movement for Reform Judaism from 2013 to 2015 and was Rabbi at Wimbledon and District Synagogue in south ...
. They have four adult sons together.


Publications


Books

*''Signs and Wonders: a new method of teaching Hebrew'', Michael Goulston Educational Foundation (1985; New edition 1992) *''The Jews of England'', '' Jewish Chronicle'' Publications (1988) *''Faith and Practice: A Guide to Reform Judaism Today'',
Reform Synagogues of Great Britain Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...
(1991) *(with Anne Kershen) ''Tradition and Change: A History of Reform Judaism in Britain 1840–1995'',
Reform Synagogues of Great Britain Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...
(1995) (hardback) (paperback) *''Till Faith Us Do Part: Couples Who Fall in Love Across the Religious Divide'',
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
(1996) *''Renewing the Vision'',
SCM Press SCM Press is a British publisher of theology, originally linked to the Student Christian Movement. The company was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1997. In 2018 ''Church Times'' reported that 100 titles from SCM Press and Canterbury ...
(1996) *''Your God Shall Be My God: religious conversion in Britain today'', SCM Press (2000) *''Reform Judaism and Modernity: A Reader'', a survey of Reform theology, SCM Press (2004) *''God, Doubt and Dawkins'',
Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...
(2008) *''Really Useful Prayers'', Movement for Reform Judaism (2009) *''Great Reform Lives'', Movement for Reform Judaism (2010) *''A Passion for Judaism'', Movement for Reform Judaism (2011) *''Royal Jews: A Thousand Years of Jewish Life in and Around the Royal County of Berkshire'', Grenfell Publishing (2013) * (as editor) ''Assisted Dying – Rabbinic Responses'', Movement for Reform Judaism (2014) *''Confessions of a Rabbi'',
Biteback Publishing Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in London concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and by M ...
(2017)


Newspaper articles


Contributions to ''The Guardian''Contributions to ''The Huffington Post''Contributions to ''The Independent''"Rabbi, I have a problem" contributions to ''The Jewish Chronicle''


Notes and references


External links


Books by Rabbi Jonathan Romain on Amazon.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romain, Jonathan 1954 births Living people 20th-century English rabbis 21st-century English rabbis Alumni of Leo Baeck College British Reform rabbis Clergy from London English Jewish writers English people of German-Jewish descent English rabbis English radio personalities English television personalities The Guardian people HuffPost writers and columnists Jewish historians Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Hampstead People from Maidenhead