I didn’t set out to become the only person to lead two Jewish museums in England – as interim director for the Jewish Museum London two years ago and now as interim chief executive of Manchester Jewish Museum.
It has been an eye-opening privilege to have had these experiences, particularly in the current climate. I took the role at Manchester Jewish Museum not long after the terrorist attacks at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation on 2 October 2025.
Since then, we have seen an increasing number of hate crimes – in the form of physical attacks – on the Jewish community, especially in London. This has significantly affected visitor numbers for Jewish heritage organisations. With parental concerns about security on school visits to Jewish venues and local authorities advising schools not to come for the same reason, this has a huge impact on our essential work and mission.
As an experienced museum leader, it was quite a shock to find myself in charge of an organisation that had to have a mandatory security presence, as well as staff with counter-terrorism training, in order to operate. This is the reality for the Jewish community for all their lives – at schools, places of worship and all community events.
As a museum director, I have previously dealt with familiar areas of responsibility, including trustees and staff, strategy and business planning, and finances. But as a leader of a Jewish museum, security is a new and regular feature of my work.
Security costs are an additional expenditure in the annual budget. Even though government grants make a major contribution to these, Jewish museums still have to find thousands of pounds to cover the need for security, on top of other running costs. All this is happening in a difficult funding climate for cultural organisations.
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What has impressed me beyond measure is that all our staff and volunteers come to work every day regardless of the steep rise in anti-Jewish racism – our teams are full of hope and a shared deep belief that what we do is part of the solution to the hatred.
We tell the human stories about how the Jewish community has made positive and significant contributions to British life over many years. Manchester Jewish Museum showcases how the city was shaped by Jewish migrant skills and ingenuity, bringing us Marks & Spencer, Slazenger and Belisha beacons, as part of our national heritage.
Our Jewish museums engage thousands of young people around the country through outreach and virtual programming with schools and youth groups. This allows people to learn about the lives, faith and culture of British Jews from an early age, helping to bust prevailing myths and ignorance about our community. This promotes an understanding of the wide range of diversity of Jewish experience and beliefs, reducing the propensity to hate and disrespect people just for being Jewish.
The approach at Manchester Jewish Museum – pioneered over the past few years – has been to bring Mancunian communities together in the stunning restored synagogue. We are grateful for support from the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund to develop community cohesion models over the next few years for Jewish and Muslim communities to work together – critical work to heal communities and help everyone move on. The museum does not align with any political approach, but seeks to bring all Jewish and non-Jewish communities together to celebrate difference.
I have really appreciated messages of support from Arts Council England and other key funders that have got in touch with practical offers of help and indications that they are thinking about our situation. It means a great deal to me personally to know others are thinking of us and wish us well.
However, I am aware that Jewish staff working in other museums without Jewish heritage collections may have a very different experience. My advice to other museum leaders is to check in with your Jewish staff to acknowledge that this has been a difficult time and tell them that you are thinking about them.
Museums are ultimately about people, and our people are also our greatest treasures – they make it all happen and deserve all our support during these difficult times.
Sue Shave, the owner of Sue Shave Consulting, is the interim chief executive at Manchester Jewish Museum
