This week's Board of Deputies annual dinner had the largest turnout for many years. That was appropriate reward for an organisation that has transformed itself from a cowed, blundering and woefully inefficient behemoth into a body that has a new-found spring in its step and a sense of purpose.
Under the current president and CEO, the Board does valuable, and usually unreported, behind-the-scenes work (which, to be fair, it has always done). It has a team of talented and committed honorary officers and thoroughly professional staff.
In recent years, it was almost impossible to get the Board to say boo to a goose: it would see a parapet and then duck, avoiding saying anything of substance lest it offend someone who might be listening. Under its new regime, it is not afraid to lead. Last week, for example, the current president, Jonathan Arkush, attacked as "deeply disturbing" Jeremy Corbyn's response to his brother's dismissal of antisemitism.
There will always be those who recoil from the leadership given by others. But that is their problem, not the Board's. As a community, we should welcome the Board's renewed vigour.
