Our current strategy, launched in 2023, strengthens our commitment to enabling the public to come together to share their passion and curiosity in Jewish literature and ideas. It sets out how we will reach new and more diverse audiences and deepen their engagement with books.
Our purpose
Our purpose is to encourage active engagement with Jewish books and ideas, cultivating a passion for the Jewish literary tradition. We achieve this through a variety of activities which enhance participation in, and appreciation of, the profound relationship the Jewish community has with literature, which has sustained and developed our culture and our sense of peoplehood, and is an embodiment of our cultural identity and heritage.
Our mission
Enhanced appreciation and status
To build awareness of our rich Jewish literary tradition, appreciation of the diversity of expression and the skills of our authors, and understanding of the significant cultural contribution it makes to the broader cultural landscape.
Building passion
To initiate and build a life-long passion for literature and the Jewish literary tradition by offering events, activities, and experiences that demonstrate the strength of our relationship with literature, and encourage active engagement with the ideas of the day that are of interest to the Jewish and wider community, and enhance the cultural landscape.
High calibre and craftsmanship
To celebrate and highlight the best Jewish literary and cultural ideas with high calibre activities that actively engage both our UK community and international audiences with the most important and influential literary works, and enable them to appreciate the authors and the craft behind them, further inspiring and encouraging our authors of tomorrow.
Contemporary cultural events
To offer rich and rewarding cultural experiences with contemporary Jewish literature and ideas that build on the Jewish literary tradition and enhance modern life.
Our values
Proudly ambitious
As proud champions of our rich literary heritage and the cultural traditions it embodies, we celebrate and present it in the best possible ways, delivering to the highest standard in everything we do. We strive for excellence and are always looking for ways to improve, continuously raising our own standards.
Curiously inquiring
We wouldn’t be a Jewish organisation if we weren’t urgently asking questions, seeking insights and a deeper and fuller understanding. Through developing and exploring together, improving them through discussion and debate, we ensure we arrive at informed decisions. While we are restless with ideas we also put thought into practical action for better outcomes.
A connecting force
We bring our community together through literary-based activities that drive participation via the chats, the sharing, debates and discussions that draws our community closer and enriches lives. We are inclusive, open-minded and welcoming, providing a supportive environment for people to connect and share, whatever their differences.
Creatively compelling
We provoke thought as a catalyst for the kind of intellectual friction that hones and improves ideas through vigorous debate from diverse perspectives. We enable and inspire participation and we provoke a response; whether that is an aroused curiosity, a sense of questioning, a need to challenge, or a desire to share a different opinion. We don’t take things at face value and ultimately we are confident in what we think and do, while recognising that debate leading to progress is part of our goal.
