The new head of Tribe – the youth department of the United Synagogue – has been announced.
Rabbi Matt Marks will be the organisation’s new executive director – a role which requires “a world-class educator who can lead and inspire the Tribe team”, said the US. He is taking over from Rabbi Eli Levin, who is now senior rabbi at South Hampstead Synagogue.
Growing up with his family in Belmont Synagogue, a community he recalled with “deep fondness”, Rabbi Marks said his upbringing there was formative, instilling in him a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish communal world.
He attended Sinai Primary School, then Immanuel College, before moving to JFS for sixth form. “I’ve been part of the Jewish communal infrastructure since birth,” he told the JC. His youth was steeped in B’nei Akiva, where he became rosh sviva (head) at Belmont and later rosh of the youth movement’s renowned H-course (leadership programme).
Reflecting on his new role, Rabbi Marks says his first priority was to listen. “Before running towards solutions or pushing my own ideas, it’s crucial to listen deeply, to our young people, to our communities, and to those who care about Tribe’s future.”
He believes that growing up in a smaller community like Belmont —rather than in one of the larger flagship US centres — has given him an appreciation for the diversity of experiences across the United Synagogue. Being based in Brighton today, he added, enabled him to approach his new role “with a slightly wider lens — one that’s attuned to both the big picture and the unique challenges faced by different communities”.
Rabbi Marks began his degree at Birmingham University — where he was active in the Jewish Society — before completing his studies at the University of London. His academic journey was interwoven with a rich tapestry of experiences: volunteering with social justice charity Tzedek in Ghana, work experience at KPMG, and three periods of learning at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Jerusalem.
Returning to the UK, Rabbi Marks joined the Teach First programme, firstly working in non-Jewish schools before, as he puts it, being “drawn back to my Jewish educational roots”. He joined the teaching staff at JFS as an English teacher and then returned to Israel for four years, where he combined learning for semicha (rabbinical ordination) with working for Mizrachi and pursuing a master’s degree at the Hebrew University. He is currently working towards a PhD at the University of Sussex, while serving as rabbi of BNJC, Brighton’s growing Jewish community – a role he will continue as he embarks on his new career at Tribe.
Addressing the challenges of rising discomfort around Jewish identity and Israel among young people, Rabbi Marks said: “We live in a time when Zionism can no longer be assumed — it must be explained, explored, and renewed for each generation. But the answer isn’t just to pick apart the past. It’s to ask a more constructive question: ‘What future are we building, and how do I help shape it?’”
On fostering stronger connections to Israel and Jewish identity, he noted: “Jewish education can’t exist in silos. It has to feel like part of the whole fabric of your life — not something confined to the classroom or the synagogue.” That is why he sees Tribe not as a competitor to other youth movements like Bnei Akiva, FZY or RSY, but as a collaborative partner in the wider ecosystem of Jewish youth life.
His broader vision is to make growing up Jewish in the UK “a more integrated and holistic experience”, where Jewish identity feels “as natural and constant as the air you breathe — woven into daily life, not reserved for special occasions".
Defining Tribe as “the branch of the US that supports the educational and identity development of young people”, Rabbi Marks is both realistic and hopeful. “Being Jewish in the modern world isn’t always easy,” he acknowledged. “But with the right support, the right community, and a sense of purpose, it can be one of the most beautiful, meaningful ways to live.”
