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'Any Questions' for Wimbledon

Written by Movement for Reform Judaism Tuesday, 06 July 2010

BBC Radio 4's 'Any Questions' will be broadcast from Wimbledon and District Synagogue on Friday 16th July. Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild explains more.

"The synagogue approached the BBC after some of its members who are involved in a local Inter-Faith forum were guests of the Ahmadiyya Mosque at the first ever broadcast of 'Any Questions' from a mosque. One of those members, David Zell, approached the synagogue's Council and rabbis with the suggestion of hosting 'Any Questions' on one of the four mid-summer Fridays when the live broadcast finishes before Shabbat starts. It was also felt that this would be a unique opportunity to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first Reform Judaism service that falls on that Shabbat and it was decided that the synagogue would conduct a special service immediately after the broadcast.

We thought long and hard about hosting a live broadcast on Shabbat evening, but felt that the weekend of the 200th anniversary of Reform Judaism was a good time to make the clear statement that we are engaged with the world as well as with Jewish tradition. As the whole event will finish before Shabbat comes in, we would be able (with some serious planning) to not only mark the anniversary in this way, but also to have a special Erev Shabbat service together.

We were also aware of the precedent of both Rabbi Julia Neuberger and Rabbi Hugo Gryn having been on 'Any Questions' panels in mid-summer.

The BBC were very happy to allocate one of the mid-summer slots to us and confirmed that to the best of their knowledge this is the first time since 'Any Questions' was first broadcast in 1948 that a synagogue would host the flagship programme. As usual the BBC will only disclose the panellists a few days before the broadcast, but a leader from the Movement for Reform Judaism is expected to be included.

Under BBC rules, although the majority of the audience will be Wimbledon and District Synagogue and Reform Movement members, at least a third of the tickets will be allocated to the general public; the audience will also include representatives of local political parties and other faith communities. The event is now sold out with a sizeable waiting list."

The programme will be broadcast on Friday 16th July at 20.00 on BBC Radio 4 and you will be able to listen again via the BBC Radio 4 website.