ABOUT YONAH

The message stayed with Joanne. It helped shape her lifelong belief that when women feel informed, connected and confident in their Judaism, they can have a profound influence upon their families, homes and communities. After visiting Israel as a child and later participating in a school programme there, Joanne moved to Israel after leaving school. She studied at Neve Yerushalayim and began teaching and supporting other Jewish women. She lived in Jerusalem for approximately 11 years, married her husband, Jonathan, and had four of their eight children there. During this period, she helped establish a women’s educational programme that brought young women from South Africa to Israel for an intensive experience combining Jewish learning and touring. In 1991, Joanne and Jonathan moved to Leeds to work in Jewish student chaplaincy. Although Joanne initially arrived as the supporting partner of the university chaplain, she quickly became an educator and community builder in her own right. Their home became a hub for Jewish students. Through affordable kosher lunches, Shabbat meals, learning and informal conversation, Joanne created a place where students from different backgrounds could find warmth, advice and a sense of belonging. After moving to London, Joanne continued supporting former students and young adults, frequently welcoming large groups into her home for Shabbat. She went on to spend approximately 11 years at the Jewish Learning Exchange and almost 20 years at Seed, developing women’s learning, one to one education, mother and daughter Bat Mitzvah programmes, communal challah makes and other educational initiatives. Throughout those years, Joanne repeatedly identified gaps in Jewish communal life. People might receive opportunities to learn or connect while they were students or single, but after marriage they were often left to navigate communication, finances, in laws, children, religious life and family pressures with little structured education or guidance. She also saw a need for welcoming spaces in which women from every Jewish background could learn, talk honestly and explore their Judaism. They should not have to reach a crisis before finding connection or making time for their spiritual and emotional wellbeing. These experiences led Joanne to establish Yonah. Yonah brings together the central strands of Joanne’s life’s work through structured, affordable courses and programmes for women, couples and families. Its work includes marriage education, mother and daughter Bat Mitzvah courses, women’s learning, challah makes, cooking workshops, retreats and Israel programmes. These address the realities of modern life while drawing upon Judaism and Jewish learning as sources of strength, connection and resilience. Food and creativity frequently provide the starting point. Participants may initially attend because they want to make challah, learn a recipe or spend time with others, but they also encounter meaningful conversations about identity, values, relationships, parenting, Shabbat and Jewish family life. Joanne’s approach is personal, practical and non judgmental. She works with people from across the Jewish spectrum and believes Jewish education should be meaningful, approachable and rooted in real life. Through Yonah, she now wants to turn more than four decades of personal impact into a sustainable charity capable of reaching more people, strengthening more relationships and helping to build confident, connected Jewish homes for generations to come.